What Vampires Are Made Of
by fantasyandmusicperson1
Summary: Bella's life fell apart after Edward left her but some surprises come her way, causing her to leave Forks. A year later, Edward and his family come back to find out Bella had died two weeks after he'd left. The Cullens are upset until Jasper gets a call.
1. Prologue

**Summary:** Set after Edward left in New Moon. Bella's life started to fall apart when he left but then some surprises come her way and practically takes away her life in Forks. Edward and his family come back a year later to find out Bella had died about two weeks after they left. Edward and his family are heartbroken until Jasper gets a call from an old friend asking him and his family to be a part of her wedding. Tensions rise and some angers are tested. Secrets and pasts are revealed and some relationships are tested. It's time to see what all of them are made of.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of those characters from the story! That's Stephanie Meyer! **

**Prologue**

_Edward POV:_

A year ago my life, if you can even call it that, ended. It ended in that forest near the house of my soul mate, my Bella. In that moment, I destroyed my own heart. I left the one thing that mattered most in my existence. My already frozen heart broke after I left her. I had to protect her soul. I would rather ruin my own life than the life of my Bella. My Bella was the most important part in my existence here. I had decided that as long as my Bella lives, I existed. When she no longer did, I'd go to Italy and beg for death. The love of my existence was the only thing keeping me from going to Volterra. I could not go back to her no matter how much I love her, no matter how important she is to me and my family.

My family and I have not been the same since we left Forks, since we left Bella. Alice, being Bella's best friend, was very affected by our leaving. She never goes shopping like she used to, she hardly smiles, or even talks about Bella. Alice also rarely even uses her visions. Jasper takes it hard because he locks himself and Alice in their room. Jasper is upset because of the horrible emotions in the house. He feels everyone's sadness, pain and anger. The anger is from Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie and it is directed at me. On top of those emotions, Jasper's guilt is there. He still feels enormously guilty for what happened on Bella's eighteenth birthday. Esme dry sobs and does not decorate the house like she used to. Esme always felt like Bella was her daughter. She was missing Bella as much as Carlisle. Carlisle buried himself in work and doesn't really talk much anymore. Emmett does not crack jokes or even really smiles because he felt like Bella was his baby sister. Rosalie was shocking. No one thought Rosalie would even be affected by us leaving Bella. Rosalie does not work on cars anymore or look in the mirror. It was confusing about how much she was affected when she didn't really even know Bella like Alice or I did. Of all of us though, I was the worst. After leaving Bella I locked myself in my room and refused to hunt or do anything. I finally went out of my room and went to track down Victoria. I was able to track her for a few weeks until her trail vanished. I felt terrible with my heartbreak that I had inflicted on both me and Bella. My heart was broken and I could no longer smile without my Bella with me.

My family and I have finally decided to come back to Forks. I could not stay away from her any longer and neither could my family. I would get down on my hands and knees if it meant getting Bella back. We had already reached Forks and I was on my way to Bella's house with Alice. Alice and I drove my Volvo with the hope of seeing my beautiful Bella. I drove up the driveway and walked up the sidewalk and knocked on the door. Chief Swan's police cruiser was in the driveway so this would not be the most pleasant encounter. Bella's truck was not in the driveway. The door opened after a minute of waiting and we saw Charlie open the door. His face was filled with anger when he looked at me. His thoughts were of pure hate.

_What is he doing here? What could he possibly want after he ruined my daughter's life? He should not be here! He'd better get out of here! It's all his fault! He hurt Bella! Bella is gone because of him, _thought Charlie. His last thought struck a chord in me. Did he mean she left or…? My frozen heart ached.

"Chief Swan, I know I have no right to ask this, but where is Bella? We didn't see her truck in the driveway. Is she still here?" Charlie was about to respond but Alice interrupted him.

"Charlie, please. We need to talk to Bella. Is she here?" pleaded Alice. Charlie's face softened when he looked at Alice.

"No. She's not." stated Charlie.

"Then where is she, Charlie? I want to talk to her for a bit." said Alice.

"She…um…Bella…She died about a year ago." whispered Charlie in a broken voice. My aching heart broke into two pieces. I collapsed and sank deeply into the ground and started dry sobbing. My heart ached for Bella, for my Bella, for my love. I would never love anyone as much as I love her. Alice fell to my side placing her arms around me in comfort, sobbing into me. Charlie was watching us but I could care less. I just lost my love, my life, my Bella.


	2. Ch1 Ten Years Later: The Call and Plans

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Twilight or the characters! Stephanie Meyer does!**

**Chapter One**

_Jasper POV:_

It has been ten years since Edward made the worst mistake possible. We all had lost Bella and finding out she was dead nine years ago did not help any one of us cope. If possible, it made everyone worse. Alice doesn't do anything much anymore except cry dry sobs into my chest. Rosalie and Emmett are wrapped up in each other in their room, most of time just staring out the window like they're waiting for someone. Esme cleans around the house to occupy herself even when it's perfectly clean. Carlisle almost never comes home unless it's to give Esme a kiss and hold her or to go to his study. Edward just sits in his room in the corner. His arms are wrapped around his knees that were tucked toward his chest. In that position, he cries dry tears, mourning the loss of his one true love, his Bella. He never comes out of his room, literally. He's locked himself inside that pitch black room full of nothingness since Alice had her last vision. Alice had quit using her gift after Edward tried to run off to Italy. We caught him before he could kill himself and his response was tearing up most things in the house that reminded him of Bella, his music collection, his books, and ultimately and unfortunately, his piano. Any sanity that vampire had practically died as well. No one has gotten a word out of Edward unless it was 'No' or even 'Go Away'.

This had all been my fault. If I hadn't lost control on her 18th birthday, none of this would have happened. Edward would be living the good life with Bella who would hopefully be his wife. The thirst was too strong and if I hadn't attacked her Bella would be here. I doomed this family to this existence of pain and loss. Everyone missed Bella. She was the missing piece to the puzzle. She matched Carlisle's caring and compassionate attitude, Esme's passion towards her family, Emmett's little sister that he could bicker and play with without being in a disadvantage, Rose's sister that could even match her beauty and stubbornness, my little sister that I could talk to about feelings and intellect with, Alice's best friend that could calm her down a bit but still have fun with, and Edward's love, his everything. We needed Bella. Edward needed Bella. Alice needed Bella. Carlisle, Esme, Rose, and Emmett needed Bella. I needed Bella. I need my little sister back. No one will ever be able to replace Bella that much I know. No one will ever take her place in our hearts, as frozen as they may be. Although her last name was not Cullen, she will always remain one to us. Once a Cullen, always a Cullen.

Alice and I were in our room. My handle on dealing with emotions had gotten better. I barely notice them anymore. I held Alice close in my arms as she drifted off into the closest possible thing we could get to sleep. I placed my lips on her forehead in a sweet and subtle kiss. She leaned into me in response. Ten minutes passed when I heard my cell phone, which hadn't rung in ten years, sound off. I let go of Alice after the okay from her and answered.

"Hello?" I answered in a flat voice.

"HEY, JASPER!!!! I MISS YOU!!! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN FOREVER!!!!!!" yelled an excited voice. I sighed. I knew who this was. It was a friend of mine. Her name was Anne. She was a girl I met before meeting up with Alice. She became one of my friends. She too, like Alice could see the future but couldn't really call visions like Alice could.

"Hello, Anne. How are you?" I responded.

"I'm doing splendidly. How about you? You seem upset." said Anne, sensing the sadness in my voice.

"It's nothing. I'm doing alright I guess. What is going on? You never call unless you have something to ask most of the time."

"I'm kind of offended. I don't only call to ask you something." She paused. I knew she'd say something. "Alright, fine maybe I do want to ask you something. How would you feel about coming to my wedding? I am getting married to a guy and I wanted all my friends to be there. Would you and your family like to come? Please! It would mean a lot to me!" replied the future seer.

"I don't think that will be possible, Anne. Things are a bit difficult for all of us right now. I don't believe now is the right time for this. I'm sorry."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, just some family issues, that's all. I'm sorry but we need things to be dealt with before committing to anything."

"Can you at least ask your family for me? Honestly Jasper, my fiancé needs another man for his groomsmen. He's only got three men in his party while I have five in my bridal party. We need help! Please Jasper!" pleaded Anne. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore her protests but with Anne I've always had a weak will against her pleading, still better than when Alice is pleading but it was slowly becoming more and more difficult. I sighed in defeat.

"I'll talk to my family and see if it will be ok with all of them. If they say yes, I will call you and tell you." I promised. I heard Anne squeal a bit. She really did remind me of Alice.

"Thanks, Jazz Man. I love you. You're awesome, like a second big brother. Well, I'll see you later Jazz Man. Don't bother calling. I know you'll show! I saw it! But thanks, still ask your family though, ok? I got to go. I'm heading to school in a few minutes. I'll text you details after you ask your family. Love ya. Bye." said Anne quickly. She hung up and I shook my head. I looked at Alice and knew she heard everything. She smiled a forced smile and we went downstairs to gather the family.

_Rosalie POV:_

I actually miss her. Can you believe it? Me, the beautiful Rosalie Hale, actually misses Edward's old human girlfriend, Bella. The family fails to take notice to anything anymore, especially Edward. It was very surprising when Jasper called all of us down (getting Edward down was a miracle in enough itself) and asked us to go to his friend's wedding. Honestly, I don't understand why it is so important to Jasper to be there. No one really wants to go, not me or Emmett, our parents or even Alice and especially not Edward.

"Look, I know this is the last thing anyone wants to do, I don't want to go either but I owe Anne this much. She and her brother John were kind enough to let me travel with them for a while before I met Alice. I wouldn't ask this of any of you if she hadn't requested it. It means so much to her so please, can we just go for the wedding? We don't have to go to the party or anything but we just need to show up for the wedding. Please." begged Jasper. He looked at Carlisle who seemed to be giving in. Carlisle nodded, accepting Jasper's request. "I also ask that we all try and act as normal as we possibly can. I know that will be hard but it's been ten years. Bella wouldn't have wanted this. We all need to try our best to be ourselves again. I'm not asking everyone to forget about her but just that people will live the existence we have, for her." finished Jasper.

"I agree with Jasper." started Carlisle. "It's about time we all tried. I want all of us be happier and at least try being ourselves again. It will be difficult but it is something we must do. Also, one of the last things we need is questions about why we look and feel the way we do. But I do have a question for you, Jasper. How would you feel about moving to the city the wedding's taking place in? We needed to leave soon anyways and at least this way we have somewhere to be and you have friends nearby." Jasper smiles.

"I would like that very much, Carlisle." replied Jasper.

"Alright then, Jasper, inform your friend, Anne, of our plans. Everyone else, start packing. We need to leave in three days." We all sat for a minute. I looked at Emmett. His face was expressionless. No sign of the playful Emmett I'd loved a long time ago. Edward's face was expressionless but his eyes were otherwise. The unmistakable pain in his eyes was overflowing and overall painful for anyone to even look in them.

No one was the same after Bella left. Edward was depressed and alone, a whole lot worse than when he was just alone. Esme and Carlisle feel like they'd lost a daughter. Alice feels the loss of a best friend and a sister. Emmett feels like he lost his baby sister. He loved messing with her and making fun of her clumsiness and her habit of blushing at every word said. Jasper felt the same loss as Emmett but took full blame for what had happened those ten years ago. He thought of her as a sister, an important member to the family, the lacking piece to the puzzle. Pain was only half of what he was feeling, the other half being his monstrous guilt. As for me, Bella, although not my favorite person at the time, was like my little sister. The only reason for my resentment toward her was jealously and my feelings for her choice.

I was jealous of how she could get Edward's attention, not that I like him in any way but a brother, but she could get his attention as a human whereas I, the gorgeous vampire, couldn't. Bella was the only one who could catch his eye. Tanya Denali couldn't do it either. I also hated her choice. She wanted to become a vampire. She could have had kids, grow old. Bella could have had anything she wanted yet she decided she wanted to be one of us. Edward however was against that so it never happened. Point is, all those feelings of resentment were there for the longest time. Every time I saw her I remembered all the reasons I didn't really like her. Being away from her though made me think about how essential she was to the family and what she really meant to me. I got used to her after the James incident and liked her a bit more afterward, not that anyone ever knew that either, but I did. I grasped how much I really cared for her more after everyone was told she was dead.

**Emmett and I sat on the sofa awaiting Edward's and Alice's return, most likely with Bella. My husband's smile seemed to be back on his face. I stared at his smile, glad to see it there again. Hopefully it'd be there permanently. Jasper sat across from us and Carlisle and Esme stood in the doorway of the living room. Suddenly we heard the loud purr of the Volvo coming up the driveway, but no heartbeat. No Bella. Something was wrong. I looked back up at Emmett to see his smile had disappeared but confusion crossed his face. **

**The door burst open and Edward ran in, vampire speed, and went upstairs and slammed the door shut. We looked at the stairs confused still. Alice came in, slowly with a sad expression on her face. Jasper immediately ran to her and embraced her. **

"**What's the matter, Alice?" asked Jasper, softly. Alice lifted her face from his shoulder where she had sobbed dry tears into and looked at him heartbroken.**

"**She's gone, Jazz. Bella's dead. She died a few weeks after we left." cried Alice. Jasper took her into another hug dry sobbing into her shoulder, silently. Esme turned her face into Carlisle's chest, while I did the same in Emmett's, all of us Cullens crying tears that would never fall.**

**Hours and an unknown vision later, Edward decided to grace us with his presence. He looked at us with great pain in his eyes, but his jaw was clenched trying to keep his face as calm as possible.**

"**I need to leave." stated Edward, already heading out the door. Alice looks up, tired from what I don't know. **

"**Emmett, Jazz, grab him. Don't let him leave the house." spoke Alice, annoyed a fair amount. Em and Jasper managed to get him before he got far.**

"**What's going on, Alice?" asked Esme, quietly. Alice stared at Edward, both annoyed and angry.**

"**You're not going to go to Italy and kill yourself. Bella wouldn't want that. We won't let you." spat Alice, fully angry now. Edward seemed angry himself. He was going to kill himself?**

"**You can't stop me, Alice" replied Edward. **

"**Actually, I can. I can see the future. I'll know before you do it. So you shouldn't even bother, Edward. You're never gonna get close enough. We've already lost a sister and a daughter. We're not losing a brother and a son, too!" snapped Alice. **

**The anger in Edward's eyes slowly faded but then pain flooded back into them. Alice nodded for Em and Jasper to let him go. They did and Edward crumbled to the floor in complete and utter pain. He got up and ran up to his room. We followed to see him tearing apart all his music, his books. He then ran back downstairs, and we watched in horror as he broke his beloved piano into little pieces. Edward then fell to knees and cried tears that would never shed for Bella. **

Edward had eventually holed up in his room for the longest time. This was the first time he'd been out since then and I know he only came out to appease Jasper. He was very courteous toward the family but specifically Jasper and Alice. Alice because he took away her best friend from her and he was feeling the same toward Jasper because of all the pain he deals with and because he doesn't want Jasper to blame himself any longer. If Edward weren't being the way he was, everyone would have gotten upset one day and fireworks would go off, possibly tearing the family apart. Jasper would take the blame, even if it weren't his fault. Edward doesn't blame Jasper, he blames himself. Maybe this trip would help them both. Edward would get out of the house and Jasper would have some amount of happiness by being with his friends. Any benefit would be helpful. Only after everyone let go would anyone start to move on. I could only hope that some good could come out of this. Maybe then we could be a real family again.

We all got up and went to our rooms. While packing mine and Emmett's stuff, I sneaked a look at Emmett. He looked back at me, his topaz eyes meeting mine. His cheeks lifted to form the first smile I had seen on his face since the news of Bella's death reached us. My Emmett's smile was genuine, not in any way fake. This was the smile I wanted to see. The sign that maybe we all could recover from our loss. I crossed the room and placed my lips upon his and kissed him with a passion that had seemed to be somewhat absent the last few years.

_Anne POV:_

Ok so I know I probably shouldn't interfere but something needs to be done. I don't know exactly what will happen but I do know that the future looks bright for both the Cullens and my family. That vision is my one shred of hope that the Cullens' broken hearts can be fixed. All they need is some hope that things will get better. The wedding is in two months. I lied to Jasper knowing that if I told him it was in two months, he'd never come this early. I need him now. It is imperative that he be here earlier. Hearts need fixing, resentments need to be resolved and pain needs to cease. Jasper's family will feel whole again one day. I may not see much but I don't need to see a month's worth of visions to see that. I will do whatever it takes to make my vision come true, even if it means upsetting Jasper a bit by lying about the date. They'll thank me in the long run, otherwise I just risked my family's respect and trust in me. I could only hope all would forgive me for this.

About two weeks ago, I had a vision of a happy family containing not only mine but the Cullens as well. One day we'd all be family and no member would be unhappy. My fiancé's sister has been filled with pain since day one. I met her years ago when she was in pain. I always hoped she'd find happiness. I now know she will along with my brother. My brother, John, had been unhappy and alone, with only me as his company, since the day our human lives ended. His one true love, his mate, had died that day. She was of course human and lost her life the same vampire that had unintentionally changed us. Three lives were lost that day. The idea that my brother would be happy made this vision even more worth the while. Love was very obviously present in my premonition and that was what was needed in my family regardless of problems that would become present the moment I started interfering. Destiny would take its course and everyone would find peace.

I watched out the window as I saw my family ride out of the driveway. My future husband lingered to take a look at me in the window. My eyesight was so good that I could see the cute dimple in his smile appear. His curly, short, brown locks were blowing hard in the wind but not affecting his hairstyle. His dark blue shirt closed tightly on his muscles making it effortless, to anyone who was looking, to believe he had massive muscles. His golden eyes met mine, his sparkling brightly as his always had. I blew a kiss to him. He smiled his childish grin and got into the big red Jeep and drove off. I could only hope his anger could hold off for a few days. I needed to hurry if I wanted to be completely prepared for the Cullens' arrival. Things were just about to get interesting.


	3. Ch2: Histories and Visions

**Author's Note**: **Thank you to all for reading the story, reviewing, favoriting, and all that jazz! I hope that any confusion is resolved here! Here is the next chapter! Enjoy and if you like it please review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters! Stephanie Meyer does though!**

**Chapter Two**

_Alice POV:_

It was a rainy day here in Oregon. The drops were pounding hard on the windows. Of course since I am used to this weather, it did not faze me or Jazz. The drive wasn't long since we came here from Forks. A human wouldn't have to travel more than several hours whereas if they went to the east it would have taken longer. The sky was still light but with no sun shining, the clouds covering any sun. It wasn't much different than the weather we had just left in Forks. Jazz and I were driving my yellow Porsche that Edward had bought me before coming back to Forks. My husband occasionally took a glance in my direction to smile at me. Our family was slowly healing. We were trying to act like ourselves again.

It had been three days since Jasper had asked us to come with him to his friend's wedding. Everyone has started acting normal again. Emmett has been smiling and making jokes here and there since then. He and Rose have been making out constantly. They really need to get a room! As for me, well I've been putting forth a real effort to be me again. The only thing that I refuse to do is shop. It's too soon. Good thing I bought more clothes than most of us wore in ten years. We still didn't need to wear the same outfit twice! Well all of us except Edward didn't have to.

Edward was the only one who could not manage to even try moving on but it was understandable. Losing a mate is an unbearable event that no one should go through. It drove Victoria for revenge. I may have stopped using my visions but I saw long before we went back to Forks that she was out for revenge. We all knew it. Edward tried to find her before deciding to return to Forks. He lost her trail and gave up. No one knew where she went, not even me. The point was that she was driven to get revenge for James. When we all helped kill James, she was determined to hurt Edward. What she would have done we will never know. She never appeared on our radar and never got close to us. Loss of a mate was hard on her and now Edward is suffering from the lack of an existence with Bella. It is hardest on him. No one expected him to be able to move on at least not for awhile, if at all. She truly was his life, his sanity, his everything.

We pulled up to a house in the forest. It was gigantic with paneled, blue walls. It had three stories that rested on top of the garage. The house was on a hill, the main part of the house on the top of the little hill and the garage on a lower, flat level of ground. The bricks were gray on the garage and had blue and yellow doors. Some of the walls were built to sort of resemble towers on the main part of the house. Stairs led up to the porch. The house looked absolutely amazing. Emmett, Carlisle, Esme, Jazz, and I got out our rides and started up the path to reach the front door. Jazz rang the doorbell when a beautiful vampire with gold eyes and long, straight, brown, hair opened the door. She looked at Jasper and grinned and gave him a hug. Now I know Jasper better than anyone and I know that he loves me more than anyone else but still regardless of that, an unpleasant feeling stirred in my body. That actually has never happened to me before. She was beautiful and I guess since she knows him ALMOST as well as I do, it affected my feelings a bit. When they pulled away the feeling went away. She turned her gaze on me and smiled.

"Hi! I'm Anne! You must be the Jazz Man's lovely wife, Alice!" greeted Anne excitedly. She pulled me into a hug. This shocked me. Wow, she was friendly. I think I might actually like her and become friends with her. This has nothing to do with a vision mind you. After years of visions, I can predict who I will like without them. I knew I'd like Bella before my vision came. It was one of the many reasons I was on Edward's side of the fight us Cullens had after the accident that nearly killed Bella before. I hugged her back awkwardly. Jazz told me she reminded him of me. Was this how weird it was for Bella? I heard Emmett chuckle at Anne's nickname for my husband.

"Jazz Man?" laughed Emmett. Jasper glared at him. Anne pulled away from me and still smiled brightly at me.

"We're going to be great friends, Alice. I can tell. Jazz Man always told me that I would like you and I don't doubt him." replied Anne. I nodded. Emmett laughed again, this time at me.

"What's the matter, Shorty? Is it too weird for you that she likes you before you two even know each other?" teased Emmett, laughing. I gave him a piercing stare while he continued to laugh. Anne giggled.

"You know you remind me of my fiancé, Emmett. You two would get along well." stated Anne. She looked at all of us. "Jazz Man, where's your other brother Edward and your sister Rosalie?" she asked.

"We thought it would be best if Edward and Rose went hunting at this time. They'll be here later." explained Jasper. This was honestly the only time Edward had really gone hunting himself in a while. He never came out of his room enough to do it as often as he needs to.

"Why don't you guys come into my home?" suggested Anne.

We walked into the beautiful house to find it just as beautiful as it was on the outside. The walls were white but were decorated with beautiful paintings. The floors were wooden; the planks were diagonally laid out. From the door you could see the dining room straight ahead. A brilliant, grand, chandelier was hanging from the ceiling. The wooden chairs were elegant, like the type you'd see at a formal event in the early century. Yellow cushions decorated the wooden chairs. The table was as well wooden and had a vase of various flowers such as tulips, roses, carnations, and sunflowers, were placed in the middle of the table as a centerpiece. The flowers were various colors, red, white, pink, and purple.

Anne led us into a room that contained two leather couches facing each other and four chairs, one on each side of each couch. It also had a small glass coffee table with its own set of flowers for a centerpiece, similar to the one in the dining room. After a gesture, all of us sat down, Jazz and I on one couch, Emmett and Anne in two of the chairs, and Carlisle and Esme on the other couch. Esme looked over at Anne.

"You're home is very beautiful." complimented Esme. Anne smiled a friendly smile.

"Thank you, Esme. It took a lot of work to get it like this. The decorating was done by the girls in my family including myself. The boys did all the construction." replied Anne.

"How many people are in your family?" asked Carlisle, speaking for the first time.

"There are eleven of us if you count our werewolf friend." answered Anne. Eleven vampires live here? I always thought we were the biggest coven excluding the Volturi but I guess I was wrong.

"Eleven? That's more than all the covens excluding the Volturi." mentioned Carlisle. Anne shrugged and was about to explain when Emmett commented.

"You have a werewolf friend?" asked an astonished Emmett. I don't blame him. No one ever thought that could happen.

"Yes we have a werewolf friend. We can never get rid of him. As for the high number of us, we weren't always together. John and I started off and then my fiancé joined up followed by his sister and four others including the wolf. Three more members came in contact and became a part of our coven after about eight years." explained Anne.

"Would you mind sharing your family's history? How you all really came to be together? How you all met?" asked Carlisle. Anne nodded and plunged into her story.

"Well John and I are brother and sister. We are actually blood-related twins. We were born in New Orleans in 1922. When our mother was giving birth to my brother, who is younger than me, he nearly died from lack of oxygen. It was a miracle that they were able to save him. Even the doctors thought of it as a miracle. They said he had a guardian angel watching out for him. When my mother was naming him, she named him Jonathan Angel Andrews. My mother and father named me Adrianna Elizabeth Andrews. F.Y.I, I don't really respond to Adrianna. I only really respond to Anne so if you want a response from me, call me Anne.

"Anyways, we had this best friend of ours. Her name was Elizabeth Sanders. She and I were best friends. We did everything together. We shopped, teased my brother, and cooked. John and Lizzie always teased each other and acted like enemies but me and my parents knew different. We all knew that John had a crush, I guess you could say, on her and always had. I could tell that she felt the same but whenever I brought it up, they denied it. Eventually they stopped denying it and finally admitted it but when I asked them to tell each other both of them declined. Both would rather hide how they feel then tell each other the truth about their feelings. They remained only friends that had obvious feelings for each other. John would have loved to be a couple, to possibly marry her one day but he never got the chance. Things took a downward spiral for him.

"It was summer of 1942. John, Lizzie, and I came home together as always when we came across a letter, asking John to come and join the army in the war. My mother and father and of course Lizzie and I were upset by this. John didn't want to leave anymore than we wanted him too either. So we spent a few days together and on the last day were going to have dinner one last time with him. We started dinner and talked. John decided he was going to tell Lizzie that he was completely and hopelessly in love with her. He came so close. But when he started to say something, two vampires came into the house, completely blood thirsty. It is obvious to us now that they were newborns and couldn't quite handle it but we obviously didn't notice it then. They killed our parents and Lizzie. They bit me and John but stopped when they heard voices outside the house. The two of them were pretty jumpy for vampires. There was no one to save us from the venom. We noticed something was happening to us on the inside and took ourselves into our sound proof basement. It was so low in the ground, no one ever heard us screaming. Army people came in to see why John hadn't come in and found our parents and Lizzie dead.

"John and I slowly changed into vampires, not really grasping what was happening. The pain as you know was unbearable. When the three days were over, I was so happy for it all to be over. We came out of the basement to find the house empty of all our things, including our parents' and friend's bodies. The two of us came up to a lake and in the reflection and saw our eyes were crimson red. We were shocked and decided we needed to find out what happened to our mother and father and especially Lizzie. We spent a week before going into research for the location of their bodies, adjusting to our new , wearing sunglasses we roamed the streets and found signs asking if we had been spotted. We asked about our parents and Lizzie posing as family members seeing as we still somewhat looked like ourselves. They told us they were buried in a cemetery in town four days ago. We then found our parents graves and said our goodbyes. For John, the hardest one was Lizzie. He would always miss her. I knew that and he knew that. It upset him worse than leaving for the army, than leaving her. She left him prematurely and he never got to tell her he loved her. He regrets not telling her everyday. I can tell. John and I travelled for years on end together. Sometimes he went away for a few months but came back to me. We met Jasper about a year before he met Alice. He stayed with us before heading out, trying to take a break from running. We got to know him for a while and became good friends before he left and met up with Alice. Then about eleven years ago, we moved to Seattle. That was where I met my Jason.

"John had left me at this point for a few months in Seattle all by myself. I then had this vision. It was me and a human eighteen year old teenager together laughing, him holding me and later, kissing me. I felt completely drawn to him, even through only a vision, a slight glimpse of him. I went to a café that I found out he worked at. I watched as he came out and asked to help me. I came in everyday, just to see him. He waited me everyday and smiled every time he saw me, not one of those fake smiles some put on but real smiles. This went on for about five weeks before he finally asked why I kept coming here, especially when I never drank anything. I told him, 'Easy. I come here to see a certain waiter, who for some reason seems to fascinate me.' He took it as a compliment and asked me out on a date. We had a great time. He was driving me home when I saw John on the front doorsteps waiting for me. John wasn't too happy with me becoming so close to a human. I told him about my vision and he responded by telling me to leave him be, to not go any further. I told him that I couldn't do that. I was fascinated by everything about him. It was too late. John and I did not get along for a while. Eventually he accepted it and we got passed it. I never considered turning him into a vampire, not until I had another vision.

"In the vision, I saw Jason getting killed by three vampires, two of them being men and the other being a woman. I feared losing him. I could not let these three nomad vampires touch him. With my visions, I was able to tell what powers they had and how to avoid them. One of the men had no abilities, another was a tracker but John could counter his tracking since he is a tracker himself, and lastly was the woman. She was the only real challenge. She had a real habit of getting out of sticky situations before they could cost her anything, including her life. I was honestly still scared for Jason. They were travelling nearby. I saw them going all around Washington but they would stop in Seattle one night and it would be a fatal choice for my Jase. So I told John that if I had Jase's permission, I was going to change him. I wasn't going to let him die. John agreed, knowing how set I was on this and not wanting me to go through what he went through with Lizzie. I came to Jason and told him there was something about me he didn't know, that I wasn't human but I didn't exactly tell him I was a vampire. I told him that something was going to happen to him and that I knew one way to stop it. I told him I could change him into what I was. We would live together forever but he didn't have to be with me forever or even accept the offer. I could try to find another way. Honestly, I had tried that and our numbers had never been enough to keep him alive and sometimes John or I died and even if I still got be with Jason by dying, John would be alone and I would not cause him that pain. Anyways, Jase stopped me from my rambling by kissing me and telling me he accepted my offer and would love to spend forever with me. So I changed him and he became one of us. We'd been together ever since. The only thing was he would always miss his family, specifically his little sister.

"His little sister was everything to him. He always felt it was his job to protect her, from everything, guys, bullets, and a lot of things. It always upset him that he would never see her again. She was the reason he moved to Seattle in the first place. She'd moved into a town close by and he couldn't be away from her. He never went to see her and was thought of as missing but he couldn't seem to face her and his father and especially his mother when they found him. They'd never let him leave. So he kept his distance but always wanted to go and see her. Eventually through the help of a werewolf friend of John's, not the same werewolf that lives with us mind you, she came to us. She was in trouble and the only thing we could do for her was change her when she needed to be changed. Jase and John ended up changing her and we gained four new members, excluding the werewolf. As for where the other three new members well that's easier explained at another time. I'd like to get through other histories before my family comes home.

"After them came the last three members of our family. Two of them were friends with Jase's sister when she was human. They were a couple, a boy and a girl. They'd been together since high school. I'm giving you guys the cliff notes version because the missing gaps will be best filled in after you meet everyone. Long story short, a vampire came and was hungry and bit him but heard something else and had smelt a sweeter scent and decided to get the other human before it was too late. The boy later changed and then changed his girlfriend as she was dying. They came to us about three years ago. The other member that was with the couple is similar to how those three members with Jase's sister are. Sorry I can't tell you but it is best explained with them here or by Jase's sister and her friends. But basically that's about it." explained Anne.

"You and your brother went through a lot didn't you?" asked Esme in a sad voice. Anne nodded.

"Yeah but we like to think it makes us who we are today. Jase makes me happier, feel more complete. The only thing is that I don't think John will feel that with anyone else regardless of my vision." responded Anne. Jasper looked at her confused, at what I don't really know.

"What, he won't get together with Jason's sister or something?" asked Emmett. Anne looked at him silent for a minute before bursting into laughter. How on earth was that funny? I looked at everyone while she was laughing to find the same facial expression on everyone's face that I'm sure I was wearing now, shock.

"I'm sorry but that's the funniest thing I've ever heard. Trust me if you asked that question to either of them, you'd get the same reaction. All they are is best friends. They love each other, sure, but as best friends and siblings. Even if they didn't feel that way, she and John are not open to love right now. John is still hung up on Lizzie. I wasn't lying when I said John was in love with her. He was very much in love with her, as much in love as I am with Jase. The looks he gave her were the same ones I give Jase now every day. She isn't open to love because she is in the same position over a boy. He broke her heart but she was very much in love with him. She doesn't know how to recover from something like that. If Jason had done what he did to her, I would be the same way." replied Anne, recovering from her laughing fit.

"What exactly happened?" I asked, curious. Anne shakes her head.

"Sorry but that's not my story to tell. The histories are not nearly as bad as telling you what happened to her that caused her heart to break. This story revolves around her feelings and it is not right to tell something that should be told by her when she is ready. I also don't want to jeopardize our relationship because I shared a story she doesn't want shared." said Anne, refusing to answer my question. I have got to admit it. She did have a point.

"That's very considerate of you." complimented Esme. Anne smiled.

"What vision?" questioned Jasper, speaking for the first time since we came inside. Anne looked at him confused. Jasper sighed. "Earlier you mentioned that you're afraid John won't feel the same way about someone other than Lizzie regardless of your vision. What vision did you have?" I could tell by the look on her face that she remembered. She let out a heavy sigh.

"I was hoping you wouldn't catch that." commented Anne. Jasper kept staring at her. She sighed one last time before answering. "I had a vision about my family…and yours." Jasper's face remained unsurprised.

"Yeah, I guessed that when you pleaded with me to come here for your wedding, yet if you were really getting married in eleven days, you would be going crazy, Anne. You forget I know you. I've noticed your calm attitude."

"Technically, I've only been calm around you guys. I talk about wedding arrangements with my family and then I sometimes am going crazy." points out Anne. "My whole family, excluding Jason, is calling me names behind my back. They're not bad, just annoying." Anne rolls her eyes. "Honestly, I'm not that bad. I just want everything to be perfect. It is my first wedding to my Jase and I want everything to go smoothly. I do plan on marrying him more than once too." Anne smiles but Jasper looks at her, knowing exactly what she was doing. She was changing the subject.

"No changing the subject, Anne. What did you see in its entirety?" asked Jasper. Anne sighed. "Is it bad?"

"Look, Jazz Man, it's nothing bad. I just wanted to surprise you but oh well. I had a vision of all of us becoming a family. You Cullens and my family become a close family. We won't exactly all live in the same house but we'll live close by and everyone in the vision is happy. All of you, including your brother Edward. My future sister-in-law will be completely happy for the first time. John will finally be happy. I don't really know how everything works out but I see all of us in this very house laughing together, all smiling without any marks of pain left on us. The vision was a bit blurry due to the werewolves so I couldn't really see faces of who was in whose arms but I think I could take some guesses. I was obviously in Jase's arms. Carlisle was holding Esme. Jasper was holding Alice, of course. Emmett was making out with Rosalie. Edward was holding someone. Jase's sister was held by someone. John was holding someone I couldn't quite make out. That really bugs me. There were more people than just our families too. I think that was due to some new mates coming into the picture. Point is all of the pain in the families individually goes away. I probably should have let whatever happen but if I speed up my best friend being happy and keep my brother from being a pain in the butt about the whole 'I'm marrying Jason' thing, I am not ashamed. John has been really annoying, Jazz Man. You don't even know!" explained Anne. Jasper laughs.

"Yeah, I seem to remember your brother's overprotective nature." laughed Jasper.

"Yeah and since I'm getting married he's in big brother overdrive. I would have been married years ago if it hadn't been for him. Jase was going to propose after some issues were settled, which got settled three years ago, but Jase was being considerate of John's feelings as an older brother and silently agreed to wait a few more years so he got used to the idea. He gave up on waiting to have John's blessing completely because John was giving in a bit but by proposing he got John to be a bit more understanding. I swear that vampire is as stubborn as a donkey!" Anne complained. Everyone laughed. Her phone rang and she looked at the caller ID and looked back at us and rolled her eyes. "Speak of the devil" announced Anne before answering the call. "Hello?" We could hear the phone line seeing as we have super vampire hearing.

"Hey, where were your dresses again? I went to the place you ordered them from but they weren't there." explained a thick, musical, male voice.

"Oh! Sorry I guess I forgot to tell you I sent the dresses to the tailors. They didn't get the sizes right so I told the tailor what I wanted and he fixed them. I came in earlier this week and since us girls are the same dress size I came in and he fitted it for me and told me to come back. I guess I forgot to tell you that, sorry!" explained Anne.

"WHAT?! Are you kidding me with this?! You made me drive all the way to Chicago early in the morning as fast as I could possibly go to find out the dresses are at a tailors place there?!" the voice screams.

"I forgot! Give me a break, John! Besides, it's not like you need the rest."

"It's the principle of the thing!" John pauses. "Anything else, General?" asked John both annoyed and angry.

"Yes Sergeant, knock it off with the names." replied Anne. "I may be taking charge but that's only because I want everything to be perfect. I've heard a variety of names similar to General like dictator being said. It's annoying."

"You are sure acting like a dictator, Anne. You have all of us going back and forth." complained John.

"Hey! You all asked for it when you volunteered to help! I was willing to do all this by myself but everyone wanted to do something so there!" she reminded him before sticking her tongue out at the phone like he could see her.

"You are so annoying, Anne. You know that?" asked John. Anne smiles.

"That's why you love me, John." John laughs.

"Yeah, I guess. I better go so we can get back sooner. I may not need to sleep but I still don't want to be out all night. Bye, Anne." responded John.

"Bye." Anne replied before shutting the phone. Jasper looked at her knowingly.

"You didn't forget did you?" asked Jasper with a knowing smile on his face. Anne looks guilty.

"No but I wanted to have my time to talk to you guys. If I told them to just go to the tailor a few miles away they would have been back too soon. I don't forget these things easily." said Anne, smiling. Emmett looks at her like he finds her interesting.

"You know what, Anne? I think I might actually like you." Emmett commented. Anne grinned. I gotta say the girl is smart and she has a good eye for decorating.

_John POV:_

"I cannot believe Anne sent us all the way to Chicago to get dresses that weren't even there! She'd better have gotten a good laugh because one day I will make her pay for this! I will get my revenge!" I said to my friend, Jason's sister.

"John, I think she's up to something." she replied.

"What makes you think that?" I asked. What is it that Anne could possibly be up to now?

"John, she doesn't forget things like this and besides that, why did she stay behind at home? I know it was not to decorate the field for her wedding. I asked her if she wanted help doing that but she told me she was doing that the week of the wedding yet now she wants to decorate two months in advance? It doesn't make any sense unless she's up to something." she explained. Anne did say those things.

"Yeah but just because she changes her mind and forgets something important to her doesn't exactly mean…"I thought for a minute. Oh no! She was right. "She's up to something!" I yelled agreeing with her. She nodded.

"Wow, finally get there, John?" she teased with a slight smirk on her face.

"Shut up! It took me a while. I don't exactly want to know what is going on in my sister's mind." I replied. She laughed.

"Well neither do I but I figured it out and I'm not related to her nor have I known her since 1922. I didn't even exist back then."

"Whatever! I hate you!" I responded.

"I hate you too, John." laughed the woman in the passenger's seat. There was a silence.

"One day I will get my revenge." I said again. She laughed.

"John, you are an interesting man, you know that?" she asked.

"Yep! You'll never find anyone like me." I answered. I'm proud of that. She laughed again.

"I love you, John. You're like the little brother I never had." she laughed. I grinned.

"First of all: I'm older so I'm not the little brother you never had. Secondly: You're like the little sister I never wanted. And Thirdly: I love you too, Bells." She smiled at me. Her golden eyes were filled with the two conflicting emotions that always took place since the day she woke up from her transformation, happiness and pain. Happiness was there from being with our family, all together, almost everyone she loved was a part of it. The pain was there, still partly there as a reminder for the existance of her love that broke her heart. I always hope that pain will vanish_. I hope you find true happiness soon, Bella_, I add silently as we drive west, toward our home in Oregon.


	4. Ch3: Bella's Story and Mistakes

**AN: Hey all! Sorry that it's been so long. I've been busy with the two stories of mine so anyways. Here's the next chapter. Please review if you like it. Also if you've already read this chapter, I'm sorry. I had to repost this because it didn't feel right without the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Twilight. That's Stephanie Meyer.**

**Chapter Three**

_Anne POV:_

It was nearly five in the afternoon. Time had gone by. I let the Cullens ask all the questions in their minds about me and my family. I kept a lot of names out of the conversations, especially Bella's. I really do hate having to call her Jason's sister. It gets so repetitive and sometimes I think it causes confusion. But, regardless, I cannot mention her because it will be too early to mention her. I can't bring her into the conversation without more questions or causing Bella premature pain that I do not want her to feel. Causing her pain is not something I want at all but a sort of necessity. She feels it but she doesn't ever face the idea that Edward could, and still probably would have without my help, come back to her. They were destined to be together. I knew this but I would not feel right forcing him on her at this particular time despite his absence in my home. It was difficult for me to consider hurting her in this way but this was the way to help her, to make her happy again. I only hope she is not mad at me when she finds out about this.

The Cullens and I sat on the couch talking about my family. I knew that now was the time to turn the tables, to find out their side of Bella's story, how they really felt about her. I may be psychic but that doesn't mean I know everything. I am not Jasper. I can't feel people's emotions. Sometimes I wish I could. I would know how someone really felt.

"Ok now that I've answered all your questions, can I ask you guys something?" I ask them, trying to get on the subject that I needed to be on. They nodded. "Well, I was wondering what made you all so upset. I noticed even before I saw you all through Jasper's voice. He sounded almost dead, like he was just living but not really trying to enjoy it." I continued seeing their faces twist in mourning and if I was right, which I normally am, it was over the loss of Bella.

Emmett's childlike smile dropped and shaped into a small frown. Esme looked as if she had just lost an important family member. Carlisle's expression mirrored Esme's own. Jasper looked like he was feeling pain like open wounds. Alice's expression fell into an angered expression, which sort of surprised me. What was she mad at? Was she mad at me for bringing it up? What was going on? Her face then contained the pain on everyone else's faces but a little stronger. Bella had always said that Alice was her best friend. I could tell now that Alice must have thought of Bella in the same way at least, if not stronger like a sisterly feeling. I did not like seeing the Cullens hurt but this was something that needed to be discussed. There was a need in me that craved for information. The craving needed to be satisfied with the feelings that no one in this family wanted to describe. They needed this as much as I did. If they had discussed it, they might feel a bit less despair and loss. There could be some closure in the retelling of Bella's story. The family glanced at each other like they were trying to decide who was going to tell the story.

"Anne, I'm not sure if that's such a good idea right now." replied Jasper, trying to get everyone else calm without any major pain that could cause one of them especially Jasper to crumble down in grief. Alice looked at Jasper and placed her hand on his shoulder, seeming like she was trying to keep him calm or to convince him to let her explain everything. Honestly, I had hoped it would be Alice. She was the one who knew Bella as well as my family did, well next to Edward of course.

Alice was one of the strongest connections to her old life in Forks before she came to us two weeks after the Cullens left. There was a sense of caution at even the suggestion of bringing Bella up in discussion around Edward. Something told me that it was going to do more damage than it would good. I would not trigger more pain than needed. It was bad enough that I was helping with initiating pain and letting it take place but it was an obstacle all would need to face so they could finally be happy, so they could open up to happiness. You can never really overcome loss until you really make an effort in trying or you let out all the pain you were feeling. That's why closure exists. It helps bring on some change after a tragedy. How many times did I cry tears that would never form for my parents and my best friend? It took a lot of dry tears to get over pain. Once the open wound of loss is closed, it is easier to live through the pain and it even makes people stronger. That's the type of closure they all needed including Bella, though they may not feel that way.

Bella seemed to run away from the pain and anything close to feeling better about what happened. She still felt the pain but seemed unwilling to try and close the wound Edward had left on her once beating heart. It is sort of like she is basking in the pain rather than trying to move on. There's a part of her wound that is healed but there is another part that seems to still be welcoming the pain like it had before she left Forks, before Jacob, the werewolf, had chosen someone to be his. It is hard to heal a broken heart so it is understandable that she still is in a few pieces, not completely together. It could have been worse and in some ways she is still there, the Bella that Jason had grown up with is still in there fighting to gain full control. She had two personas, the Bella that Jason had loved and grown up with (the normal and somewhat happy part of Bella that had been shown around the family), and the Bella that tried to live on day by day to overcome the pain.

Alice looked at me while I was sifting through my thoughts. I tossed out all my thoughts to stare back at her. Her eyes still held the loss but held some strength in it. Some part of Alice was there and trying to break free from the chains of despair. I admired that strength. It reminded me of the way Lizzie was when she lost her baby sister when Lizzie was twelve. For a twelve year old girl, Lizzie had the strength I had never thought possible for a little girl. Lizzie had been able to overcome the loss easier than it had been expected for her to feel. She had felt responsible for keeping her family together and I saw that same strange yet amazing quality in Alice.

"I will explain." responded Alice. She paused before breathing an unnecessary breath. "We were living in Forks. All of us had a mate but Edward. Edward had found no interest in any woman, vampire or not. He had once thought of himself as content. He didn't really feel the need to have a mate. Edward didn't realize how much he had really deep down wanted to have a mate, a person he could love endlessly for the rest of his existence. Some of us had even thought that he might not get a mate. But that all changed when we met her.

"A new girl had just moved in from Phoenix, Arizona. Her name was Bella Swan. She was beautiful even if she didn't see it. Although she could have had better fashion sense but that's beside the point." said Alice, making everyone, including myself, laugh. This part was the Alice that Bella had loved, the part that loved to play Bella Barbie. Alice smiled in remembrance before continuing. "She had come to school and everyone was interested in her, especially the human boys of the school. She had a lot of admirers, even ones she didn't even know about. None of us really took notice of her until lunch and even then it was mostly Edward. Edward had spent a bunch of time trying to read her mind. He had never gotten a single thought in her head. It was silence. Lunch eventually ended and we headed to our next classes, Edward's being Biology. Bell had had the same class as Edward and came into the room when her scent had finally reached him. Her scent was so strong and was irresistible to him. He had to use a lot of strength just to keep himself from hurting her. It had taken a lot of willpower." said Alice before Carlisle talked in regards to the subject of strong scents.

"I actually think that she was his _La Tua Cantante_. Her blood sang to him. It made it harder for him to control himself." explained Carlisle. He looked at me. "Has it ever happened to you? Has someone's blood ever had a stronger effect than another's for you?" asked Carlisle, curious once again. I smiled, remembering. I nodded.

"Yes. It had happened to me once. Jase had been that one. His blood would always be the most potent to me." I answered.

"So you ended up changing him regardless? That must have taken a lot of strength." I nodded.

"It did. But I loved him and that made it just that much easier." I concluded before motioning Alice to continue her story with my hand.

"Anyways, Edward had left and went to Alaska, trying to get away from her. Eventually he came back convinced that he could handle it, that she was just some girl that should not tear him apart from his home, from us. He went to school and actually talked to her, getting to know her. He found out that she had left Phoenix, the place she loved, so that her mother could be happy. She exiled herself to Forks, the place she despised with every fiber in her being, for her mother. Evidently, she was a selfless person. She always thought of everyone else before herself. It was one of the many great things about her. She and Edward had talked about that and few other things. Not one of them, not even Edward, could really fathom his interest in her. Edward had thought it was because of her thoughts but now we all know different. No one ever thought we'd have to worry about our secret being exposed.

"One day though, a van had slipped on some black ice and was headed in Bella's direction but Edward came and pushed the van away with his hand, keeping it from killing Bella. The bad part was that she had seen him push the van away. She had seen his extraordinary strength that he shouldn't have. She had hit her head and Edward had tried to use that as an explanation but she wouldn't stop trying to get the answers to how he did that. Our family had been in conflict after that. Rosalie had been mad. Rosalie and Jasper had suggested she should have been dealt with but I told them we couldn't, that one day she would be one of us, that she and I were going to be best friends. I had told Edward I had loved her too or that I would. I had known that by then he was falling in love with her. It would hurt him to leave. After that he had ignored her, trying to keep his distance but eventually he failed and started talking to her again. After three boys from school asked her to the dance, Edward had gone out one night and went to her home and watched her sleep. It had become a habit of his after a while. Eventually they became friends of a sort. She though kept trying to figure out what Edward was, what we all were. It was like that for a while. She had theories like being bitten by radioactive spiders. It was a bit amusing. But she did end up finding out.

"She went to a beach down on the Quileute reservation in Forks. It is called La Push. La Push Beach is completely forbidden to us. We are not allowed to be anywhere on La Push. No vampire is allowed to cross into Quileute territory. She had invited Edward to come with her and some friends of hers that wanted to go including the boys who asked her out to the dance. Edward most likely would have gone with her had it not been for the treaty that we had agreed to a long time ago regarding our boundaries, where we could go and where we couldn't. She met a boy a year younger than her. He was raised on La Push and we think he was the descendent of the man we made the treaty with, Ephraim Black. The treaty had said that we were not allowed to cross their land and in exchange, they would not reveal what we were to the humans. So the boy walked with Bella. He was an old family friend. His name was Jacob. Jacob and Bella walked down the beach and Bella started flirting with him to get him to tell about what we were. He told her about the Quileute legends that he was not allowed to speak of, the ones about us. Bella heard Jacob mention 'The Cold Ones'. When she had asked who they were he told her the one word he was not allowed to mention to her, 'Vampires'. Bella had thought about that and did some research on the internet but it didn't all fit the descriptions of us so she dismissed it and thought it didn't matter to her.

"Later on that week she went to Port Angeles." continued Alice, not needing to stop for breath. I looked on in a bit of confusion. Port Angeles was never mentioned in Bella's side of the story. Was that an unnecessary part of her story or did something happen that she didn't want to talk about? I paid closer attention now to Alice, needing to hear what happened. "She was shopping with some friends. Bella then went off on her own to a bookstore but it wasn't the type of bookstore she liked so she started walking more. She had walked into a bad place at the wrong time. Some men had ended up following her with bad intentions." I think I know where this is going and I think I know why Bella did not tell about this part. "They herded her into an area and were about to…Well do you know what happened to Rosalie?" asked Alice, trying to avoid an actual explanation. I nodded. Jasper had told me everything with her permission. "Well that's what was going to happen to Bella if Edward hadn't come in and saved her." replied Alice. Yep, Bella didn't tell us for a special reason. The reason: her brother would be ticked off. I knew then that Jason could never find out or who even knows what would happen. Jason would be mad enough because of what nearly happened but would be even madder because Bella neglected to mention it. My fiancé doesn't like be kept out of the loop and this would drive him insane. I looked at all the Cullens with a serious look on my face.

"Can you all do me a huge favor?" I asked. The family nodded with curious looks upon their faces. "Can you please not bring this up around Jason when you meet him?" I practically begged, knowing that all this would cause more trouble than I was already setting up for. Not only would Jase be mad at me but he would be mad at Bella too for not telling him and that would lead to some problems we really didn't need right now. The Cullens looked at me confused with the request. "It's just Jason knows someone who almost went through that and he'd be very upset to hear about it happening to anyone." _Especially if that someone is his little sister Bella, _I added silently in my head. They all nodded understanding how the subject would upset someone but not knowing that what I was saying was the half truth. Jason could never find out that Bella was almost attacked because the only good thing to come out of that would be of a grateful nature toward Edward. But an angry nature at the men for trying to do that to his sister and at Bella for keeping this a secret from him would be there causing a few problems in my family. Alice continued with the story.

"Anyways, Edward saved her and got her to eat and drink things while answering all her questions. She had been asking about how he can read minds and what he was doing in Port Angeles. In the car she talked about her 'theory'. Edward asked her about it, needing to know if she found out. Well, she told him that she thought he could be a vampire. She also told him that she didn't care and Edward got mad. He thought she should care. It did matter to him and he thought it should to her but it didn't. They talked and he took her home. After he came home from Bella's he talked to Carlisle about what to do about what almost happened. Carlisle had taken the guy out of the state and called in a tip to the police. The guy had been apprehended and put on trial for the terrible things he'd done to innocent people."

"Edward and Bella had remained close but get even closer as time went on. Edward had even taken her out to a meadow where he could show her what we're like in the sunlight. That was the same day they had both admitted to loving one another. They even kissed for the first time in that very meadow. Edward brought her back. She found out about his watching her sleep when Edward had admitted it and she was fine with it. They loved staying together at night. It had happened frequently still, even after Bella knew. Edward later brought her over to our place to meet everyone. In that time Edward shared Carlisle's history and showed her around the house. But as always something that didn't seem to be an issue started causing some trouble for Bella.

"All of us Cullens decided we wanted to play baseball. Esme was the umpire while the rest of us were divided onto teams. Everything seemed to be going fine until I got a vision of three vampires heading our way. They were two men and a woman. Those vampires were not like us. Their diet was not like ours. The minute Edward saw this he ran to Bella's side. He didn't have time to run Bella out of the field so we tried to pretend she was one of us. It was working just fine for a while until the wind blew, screwing up any chances we had of letting her leave without them noticing the human scent she had. One of the men wanted to attack her then but Edward jumped to protect her. He wasn't about to let anyone hurt her. They left not wanting to fight with us or at least that's what one of the men was hoping. The one that had tried to attack her, James, had other plans. Edward had heard what he was thinking. James was planning on hunting Bella. It was a sort of game to him. It became most exciting when Edward had jumped to Bella's defense. It made it more of a challenge, even more so when he realized that we would help Edward protect her. The woman, Victoria, she was going to help James. The two of them were willing to hunt Bella down and didn't care if it meant fighting us. The other man, Laurent, was not however going help them nor was he going to help us. But he did however come to our home and warned of us of James' plan. He didn't seem to think that saving Bella was worth it and of course when he even suggested it wasn't, Edward became angry at the very thought. She was worth it, even if she didn't believe it. She came up with the idea that she should tell Charlie she couldn't be there and that she was going to Phoenix. The thing was that she was going to Phoenix. James would never really know to look for her in Phoenix because if she were going there, why say it, right? So Jasper and I were the ones taking her down there while the boys hunted James. And while the boys were doing that, Esme and Rosalie would keep an eye on Charlie.

"We got to Phoenix with no problem. Everyone had their own jobs and Jazz, Bella, and I were waiting for the call that would tell us we could come home. Bella was very scared and worried. She didn't believe she was worth it but Jazz reassured her of that. It all seemed to go pretty well but things changed. The hunting party lost the tracker and I got a vision of him in a ballet studio, waiting for something. Edward had called telling us that he was coming to get her and they would run away together while the rest of us went hunting. He was going to board a plane to Phoenix with Emmett and Carlisle. They did not realize however that Victoria was watching them. A call had come in that I had assumed was Bella's mother. Her mother's voice was frantic. I thought she was worried about Bella's whereabouts. I gave Bella the phone only for her to hear from James instead. He told her that he had her mother and that he would kill her if Bella did not come and meet him alone. Bella couldn't say 'no' being as unselfish as she is. She decided to write a letter, one that she said was for her mother, but was really addressed to Edward. We went to the airport and waited for their plane to come in. Just when they were about to meet up with us, Bella said she'd take Jazz and I up on the offer of breakfast. She suggested Jasper come with her so he could calm her nerves if need be. She said she needed to stop in the bathroom, which we didn't realize had two doors. Bella went out the other door and managed to leave without our notice. We had realized she left and Edward had read her letter. The letter scared him, worrying him even more for Bella's safety. We took off for the place where we figured out my vision took place, the old ballet studio Bella went to. Edward got there before we did, seeing as he's faster than all of us. He had already started fighting with James. We got there and Jasper and Emmett took care of him. Edward, Carlisle, and I were by Bella trying to help her. James had bitten her before we could stop him. The venom was spreading and she was bleeding badly. Edward didn't want her to become one of us and the only way to get the venom out was to suck it out of her blood. He did end up doing just that. He had enough control to pull away regardless as to how good her blood would taste. We took her to the hospital. She had to get some blood transfusions and everything. Later, Edward decided he didn't want her to miss out on anything. He ended up taking her to prom even though she didn't want to go. She didn't figure it out until they were close to the school.

"Eventually everyone got used to having Bella around. Rosalie still wasn't the nicest person around her but Emmett loved her like a little sister. He thought she was hilarious." Alice said laughing a bit. Emmett did the same.

"That's because she was! She was always tripping or blushing! She was such a klutz and she always did the funniest things that weren't exactly how a human would react! She was awesome!" replied Emmett, his childish grin taking place in his expression. Esme, Carlisle, Jazz, and Alice smiled like they were remembering what Emmett was talking about. Bella was still like that in some ways. I loved that about her too. Emmett might find her even more enjoyable now but we'll see. Alice looked back at me continuing the story.

"We spent the summer with Bella. She and I became best friends as I had seen in my visions. She and Edward were obviously still madly in love with each other. The two were hard to separate to tell you the truth sometimes. But that all changed on her birthday." Alice said before placing a comforting hand on Jasper's hand. Jasper looked down in shame. I remembered this part. Bella had not failed to tell of this moment. "Edward had brought her to our home after watching _Romeo and Juliet_ with her. We were just having a private party for her with our whole family. Emmett, Jazz, and Rose had bought a stereo for her truck. Emmett had installed it while she was opening the box and she'd yelled out a 'thanks' to him and did the same with Rosalie and Jasper in a lower voice. Emmet laughed of course. When she was opening the gift from Edward and me, she had gotten a paper cut and since Jasper wasn't as used to being around humans at that point, he was going to try and attack her. Edward read his mind and in trying to protect her, sent her into a glass table. Then everyone but Carlisle was disturbed by her wounds. Edward was in control of his thirst enough that he was still protecting her. He then started making the plan for the biggest mistake he had ever made.

"He wanted to leave her, that way she wouldn't be in anymore danger, which is stupid because she was in danger of a lot of things and not everything had to do with being around vampires like the Port Angeles incident or the van accident. But he was so sure this would keep her safe so we left. A year later, we returned to Forks. Jazz had worked a bit on his control while we were up in Alaska. Edward couldn't stay away from her any longer so we went back. Edward and I went to her home and talked to her father briefly. He told us that Bella had died about two weeks after we had left. I had never seen Edward so heartbroken before. The news sent him to his knees. It had been so painful of an experience for him. Bella had died and he would never see her again. We had all thought of Bella as family. Bella was like my sister and Jazz, Em, and even Rosalie felt the same way. Esme and Carlisle had thought of her as their daughter. It still hurts because we will never see her again. The family just doesn't seem right anymore. She brought this light into Edward that made our family feel complete for the first time. We had thought it was complete before she came along but as we look back, we don't see it. We were ignorant to incompleteness that surrounded our family. Bella had been the last piece to the puzzle. That position will never be filled, that much I'm certain. She will always be the missing Cullen." finished Alice.

I sat there a little stunned and confused. It had sounded a lot like how Bella felt about each and every one of them. She had felt alone when she came to Forks, hopeless in regards to finding anyone she could communicate and get along with. But then the Cullens came along and they acted like family to her. Every one of them had their own traits that she admired. She admired Emmett's playfulness and bravery, Carlisle's compassion and strength, Esme's motherly passion and intuition, Jasper's intelligence and charismatic ability, Rosalie's protectiveness over her family and her own strength, and Alice's kindness. Edward was perfect for her. She admired Edward for many things, his strength, kindness, politeness, protectiveness, everything. The only part of the story that hadn't been completely answered was the why. Why had Edward exactly left if he loved her so? Bella has this idea that it's because he doesn't love her anymore. Alice said it was to protect her. Also, why is he so against changing her if Bella wanted it? I knew it was what she had wanted. She had told me that much. There is just some of this that remains a mystery to me. Before I could get my question out, Jasper speaks softly with a guilty look on his face.

"It was all my fault. If I hadn't attacked her that day Edward never would have left and Bella wouldn't have died." said Jasper, guilty. I looked at him in sympathy knowing that it would feel terrible to feel that way especially when it's not his fault.

"You don't know that, Jazz. Bella could have still died if Edward had been there. You heard people say she died in a car crash. It's possible Edward wouldn't have been in the car." replied Alice. "And Edward might have decided to leave anyways because of something else before then so it's not you fault." I nod.

"Jazz Man, It's not your fault. Look I may not know Edward or Bella but from what it sounds like they both made decisions. Edward made the decision to leave and Bella made the decision to be with him. Both of them made decisions. Edward made his and Bella made hers. There is really no one person at fault. Edward, no offense to him, was the one that made the decision to leave so he's more at fault for that but if Bella hadn't been with him it wouldn't have gotten so far. I can see both sides of it. An event is a series of decisions and that's what really makes it hard to see outcomes." The doorbell rings. I yell for them to come in before continuing. People walk in but I do not look to see who came in. "I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm placing blame but I have this habit of being able to see many decisions and their outcomes, even more so than Alice. Look the point is that Jasper, you are not responsible." I finished.

"She's right." responded a voice from the doorway. We all turn and I see a man and a woman. The woman had long blonde hair and was extremely beautiful. She had the golden eyes of a vampire. _Huh, this must be Rosalie,_ I thought to myself. I look at the man and see bronze locks and golden eyes. He was not as muscular as Emmett but not muscle less either. His golden eyes were filled with undeniable agony. _This must be Edward,_ I thought to myself. Now I need to keep my thoughts in check in case he hears me. He was the one to speak which seemed surprise everyone. "She's right. You aren't responsible for what I did. I left her, not you. I broke her heart. And Alice is right, I probably would have left regardless if another incident happened like that." he replied. At least he's setting something straight.

"How long have you been able to hear us?" asked Esme, sweetly. Rosalie answered this time.

"We've been here since Alice started talking about Edward's decision to leave." answered Rosalie. Ok, seriously though why did he leave her if he loved her? How was leaving gonna protect her? Why was he so against changing her? Those same questions roamed in my head over and over again.

"I wanted to protect her. By leaving, I thought I was saving her. She was put into so much danger just by being with me. I loved her so much that I would have done anything for her; even put myself through emotional turmoil. Her life was the most important thing to me. I couldn't let her lose her life. And I wasn't going to change her because I didn't want to take away her soul. She shouldn't be denied her chance at heaven, not an angel like her. I did not want to turn her into a monster." Edward said, answering all my questions quietly.

"Edward, from what I heard about you from both your brother before today and your sister just now, I can tell you that you are not a monster. You are a man who fell in love with a woman. You would do anything to protect her. You've always been there saving her. Tell me how that's monstrous in any way?" I asked.

"I still left her, knowing it would break her heart." he replied.

"That doesn't mean you're a monster. That just means that you love her more than anything and if you think you can save her life by doing so, you'll do it. And even so, everyone makes some bad mistakes. My brother John for example, didn't tell the woman he loved he loved her and that haunts him everyday, knowing what could have been. Everyone has their own little mistakes. You just need to learn from them. You're not a monster." I countered firmly. Edward was silent. I sent him a little smile and he did the same.

"Thank you, Anne. You are more understanding than most people would be." he said. I shrug.

"Yeah, I'm not most people. I'm weird that way but I love it." I say with pride, getting a few small chuckles out of the Cullens. I turn my face serious and turn toward Edward. "So, answer me one thing. Do you still love her?" I asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it directly from his mouth.

"I love her more than anything in my entire existence. There will never be anyone who can take her place in this frozen heart of mine." responded Edward. I started to reply when my cell phone rang. I picked it up and held it to my ear.

"Hello?" I said.

"Alright, Anne, what are you up to?" asked John, not bothering with greetings. My eyes widened. He wasn't supposed to know I was hiding anything. Dang, my best friend told him something was going on. My brother used to be oblivious to when I was up to something until I really started acting strange.

"I don't know what you're talking about, John." I responded smoothly.

"Yeah, I'm not buying that this time. Anne, what is going on? You can trust me you know that." John said. I look at the Cullens, giving them a look to tell them 'I'm sorry'. I sigh.

"Is Jason's sister with you?" I asked.

"No, why?"

"No reason really. Um, I kind of invited some more people to the wedding that no one knows about." I admitted.

"Who?" pushed John. I mentally groaned.

"I kind of invited Jasper and his family." I replied carefully. The line was silent.

"WHAT?! ANNE, ARE YOU INSANE?! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU EVEN THINKING?!" yelled John, over the phone. I took a look at the Cullens and all were shocked especially Jasper.

"Look, I'm just trying to help." I replied, hoping he'd understand.

"HOW IS THAT GOING TO HELP ANYONE?! DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT DAMAGE THIS COULD DO?!"

"OF COURSE I DO! DON'T YOU THINK I'VE BEEN WORRYING ABOUT THAT?!" I yelled back, getting frustrated.

"AND YET YOU WENT THROUGH WITH IT?! ANNE, THIS IS THE STUPIDEST THING YOU'VE EVER DONE! ARE YOU TRYING TO CAUSE PAIN, ANDRIANNA? DO YOU GET A JOY OUT OF DOING THIS, OUT OF HURTING HER?!" he yelled again. That was a bit insulting that he thinks I want to cause pain. I felt sobs make their way up my throat. How dare he insist that I enjoy the idea of hurting anyone?

"If you think I enjoy hurting anyone, especially my best friend, then you don't know me at all." I spat, hurt by his assumption. I close my eyes and hang up the phone before he could respond. I honestly thought my brother would understand. I guess I was wrong. I started sobbing. My brother and I have never fought like that before and the fact that he thinks something like that of me, well that did it. I'm a bit emotional but give me a break here. I heard the front door open. I caught the scent and ran to the front door, not bothering to talk to the Cullens, and run into the big vampire arms of my shocked Jase. His arms wrapped around me automatically and held me as I cried.


	5. Ch4: Fights and Reunions

**AN: Hey all! Sorry that it's been so long. I've been busy with the two stories of mine so anyways. Here's the next chapter. Please review if you like it. **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Twilight. That's Stephanie Meyer. Some quotes are from both Twilight and New Moon (the books not the movie)**

**Chapter Four**

_Jason POV:_

So I'm a bit confused. See here's the thing: I come home from getting the suits for my wedding to have my fiancée run into my arms crying her sorrows away. What is up with that? Am I missing something? I don't understand what in the world is going on right now. Anne was not making any sense. Nothing made sense. What is going on? What could possibly make her this upset? I swear if someone hurt her, I'm going to tear them apart. I'm very protective of my girl. She means the world to me.

Anne and I have been together for eleven years, two months, and sixteen days. Yes, I'm counting! I've loved Anne since the first day I saw her. I thought she looked like an angel and when she smiled…it had tugged hard on my old human heart strings. Anne had made me feel so special. I will never forget the day I met her.

**Today was my fifth day at work here in the café. Man, I hate working. I don't get a break and sometimes things get a little nuts around here. It is days like these that I wish I had never left Phoenix, Arizona. Honestly I don't know why I even made that decision when I don't even visit my little sister, Bella. This going out on my own kind of sucks. Worst part about working today is that it is a Friday and it is always busy on a Friday here.**

**I was just getting ready to start taking orders when I saw her. I looked and in front of my very own eyes was a perfect angel. Her brown hair was pin-straight and her eyes were a beautiful shade of topaz. Topaz? I had never seen someone with topaz eyes before. She had very, very, pale skin and wore a beautiful purple top with a black leather jacket and some almost designer looking black pants. I don't really know if they're designer but that didn't matter to me in the slightest. Some part of me told me to stay away but another part was drawn to her, forcing me to make my way toward her, forgetting my normal tables I served at. I walked over to her, making sure that I don't trip due to my constant staring. Her eyes were focused ahead of her. She looked like she was in a bit of a haze, like she was seeing something beyond the wall her eyes were focused on. I made my way to the table and tried to keep myself in check. I have never been this nervous around a girl before, though she was not just some average girl. I knew that to be true and that might be one of the things that attract me to her, mystery. I do love mysteries. May the investigation begin. **

**I cleared my throat for two purposes, to get her attention and then also so I can actually talk to her. Topaz eyes soon met my brown eyes. The eyes were cautious and curious. We stared at each other for about two minutes both trying to figure out the other. I broke our contest to look back at my note pad, preparing to take her order.**

**"Um, hi. I'm Jason. I'm going to be your, um, server for tonight. Would you like anything to drink or do you know what you want to eat already?" I asked, stammering in some sentences. Wow, stuttering. That's not like me in the least. Bells would be making fun of me, that's for sure. She will never find out about this if I have anything to say about it.**

**"I'd like a chocolate shake and a burger, if you would please." replied a smooth, elegant, and kind voice. That voice was absolutely perfect and almost addicting. I would never grow sick of that voice. I even felt like I needed it. I looked up at its owner and matched her beautiful voice to her. It's no surprise the beautiful voice also comes with an exquisitely radiant woman. I nodded and sent her a smile, showing off my white teeth though not as white as hers. **

**"I'll be back with your order, Miss." I replied taking off without looking back. I later brought her back her food when I saw the most beautiful part of that attractive angel, her perfect smile. It was thankful, thoughtful, almost critical, and then gentle in everyway possible. Her pearly white teeth glistened as the light caught on to them. I felt my heart constrict in my chest. I smiled back in response and went back to work.**

**I had worked majority of that night. A good estimate would be about six hours. A lot of the customers were kind with the exception of a few that were not as polite. I had not gone back to face the angel, afraid I would make an idiot out of myself. When I was serving, I felt like I was being watched. It was a sort of creepy feeling that took place throughout my entire body. I pushed the feelings aside and worked more and more. Eventually I did go back to the woman's table to find one hundred dollars in cash laid out as a tip and another twenty for her food. I tried to look for the woman to find her gone. She left without her bill. I got ready to take her plate but noticed something strange. Her food and drink were never touched. That is odd. I shrugged and took it to the kitchen and had them washed. That was a great night, and all I could think about was the angel of the café.**

I never felt that way about any woman in my entire life. I was interested in lots of girls but that feeling had never been anything compared to the romance between Anne and me. I was never so eager as to get her name, not wanting to bother her and knowing that she wouldn't be interested in me. Honestly, it took me five weeks to get her name and to find out why she never ate anything. She of course didn't say anything but she knew the rules and I couldn't be mad at her for trying to keep the both of us alive. Anne was the reason we were here together now. I would always be grateful to her for changing my life so immensely. I would owe her for all eternity. I will honestly do anything for her and I hate seeing her so upset.

I held Anne close to me and whispered comforting words in her ear while also rubbing small circles into her back. I tried my best to sooth her woes regardless of my lacking knowledge of the reasons for her cries. I held her tightly for about five minutes. After those five minutes Anne had stopped crying and looked at me, still a little sad but not as upset as she was a minute before now. My eyes stared into hers concerned for my fiancée's feelings.

"Are you alright, Annie? What's wrong?" I asked concerned but also silently cursing out the one causing her pain. She sent me a weak smile in which one corner of her mouth lifted while the other remained unchanged. Annie nodded.

"I am fine, Jase. I just had a fight with John. That's all." replied Anne, still slightly sad. I kept my look of worry on my face. Whatever John had said to her really upset her. He was definitely going to have a talk with me later.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to beat him up? I'll gladly beat him up if that's what you want, Annie." I offered suddenly enthused with the idea.

John and I have never had the strongest relationship. He gets on my nerves. I don't know what it is about the guy that bugs me the most, his know-it-all attitude, his critical glances directed toward me, or his nonstop feelings of annoyance directed toward me because Anne and I love each other. John doesn't think I'm good enough for Anne. He hates me for reasons I will never figure out. Anne assures me it's nothing personal, that it's just some brotherly jealousy. She thinks he hates me because Anne spends more time with me and doesn't talk to him anymore because of that but I think that's all crap to tell you the truth. I don't know what his problem is but I simply do not care. That feeling is mutual so I would take much pleasure in beating the guy up.

"No, Jase. I don't want you to beat up my brother." answered Anne laughing quietly with a true smile on her face. "Last thing I want is you and my brother fighting." I looked at her with an arched eyebrow. John and I fought all the time. How would this be any different? She understood my look and clarified herself. "I mean more than usual." _Dang it! There goes my fun for today,_ I thought to myself disappointed.

"Well I'll always be willing to help you and beat him up for you. You just have to ask, Annie." I replied. She laughed noting my tone of hope. I hoped she would change her mind. Knowing her, that wasn't going to happen.

"I'll be sure to tell you, Jase." chuckled Anne. I was glad to see the light in her eyes, no sadness in sight. That light is one of the things about her that I love. She's always so happy and optimistic in almost every situation. I love her for that. She's very helpful during hard times. Anne is also a terrific best friend to my sister. She'd always helped Bella through her pains caused by Cullen.

Cullen. I hate that guy! I can't stand him because of what he did to Bella. He had caused Bella's depression over ten years ago. After he left her all alone in the forest, Bella had become depressed and felt every sorrow in the world. Her heart had been broken and then stomped on. I will never forgive him for that. Sometimes it seems like no one thinks I see what is in those eyes of hers. Whoever thinks that is obviously ignorant to my sometimes perceptive qualities. Bella's eyes are constantly covered in despair. Her only happiness comes from her family here, all of us including the wolves. They have been very understanding over the years, mostly due to Bella and her unique situation. But even all of us can't rid her of that sharp pain that his presence in her life had caused. That vampire can burn for all I care! He hurt my baby sister and I have no compassion for this…I can't even find a word to describe the way I feel about him. It is an unforgivable thing to me. It will never feel right that he left her. If I ever see his face, I may rip him apart and burn the pieces myself! No one messes with my baby sister and gets away with it!

I dismissed my strong thoughts and looked at Anne again. Although I hated to ruin her happiness right now, I needed to know what John had said and what they had fought about. I need to know what's going on otherwise when John gets home, I may get more utterly confused and at least this way I can defend her with my own facts.

"Annie, what were you and John fighting about?" I asked softly. I watched as Anne's expression revert from happiness to slight sadness and extremely nervous. Nervous? What could she possibly have done that would make her so nervous? I now grew wary of what was to be said. Anne was hiding something. That was certain. I couldn't tell before but just the look of guilt took place in her eyes. I knew that face anywhere and that always meant she was up to something. Anne sighed a heavy sigh before speaking.

"Come with me into the living room and you'll understand, Jase." replied Anne vaguely. We made our way into the living room to find it occupied. I looked on in confusion. This was going to help me understand how? I turned my glance of mystification on Anne, practically demanding an explanation.

"Guys, this is my fiancé Jase. Jase, this is my friend Jasper." she said pointing to a blonde vampire on her right. Anne had told me all about her friend Jasper. I'd always been curious and wanted to meet the guy but why this would cause a feud between John and Anne remained a mystery to me. John liked Jasper as much as Anne did. There was no animosity between the two of them that I was aware of. Jasper stood up and shook my hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Jason." he greeted politely. I nodded.

"It's great to meet you too." I replied. He turned his gaze to the people I presume are his family. He looks over to a blonde vampire woman in the corner next to another vampire who was about my size, if not smaller. There's no way he was stronger than me.

"This is my sister Rosalie, her husband Emmett." introduced Jasper to the couple before fixating on another couple who were a bit older than the first. One had a motherly glow with caramel hair color and the other was an older blonde gentleman. "This is my mother Esme and my father Carlisle." He continued before sending loving looks toward a black, spiky haired pixie. Ok, I don't know what it is but something about these names sound familiar. Where have I heard these names before? "This is my wife Alice." added Jasper before placing his gaze on another vampire, this time I knew exactly who it was before he said the name. This was the man I despised. This was the vampire that would never get anywhere within twenty feet of my sister if I had anything to say about it. This was the one that broke my sister's heart. This was the one person I had actually held a grudge against. "This is my brother Edward." finished Jasper before taking his seat. Alice placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. I kept my eyes trained on Cullen's. I felt a strong surge of rage. My eyes were undoubtedly turning black with fury. How dare he come here?! My mind suddenly remembered something, the nervous and guilty look on my fiancée's face. She knew! I turned my piercing gaze on her.

"Anne, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?" I asked venomously, walking out of the house before getting an answer from her. I knew she'd follow me. I walked out into the field we had been prepared to get married here. I would have let Anne speak first but my rage got the best of me.

"Start explaining, now because there had better be a good explanation as to why he's here!" I spat at my fiancée. I was mad at both him and her. I was furious at him for obvious reasons but I was mostly mad at her because she never told me what she was doing. As my fiancée she was supposed to tell me these things. This could ruin everything and I don't even know if she realizes that. She'd better have learned that by now from the looks on Bella's face because if she didn't have a good reason, it wasn't looking good for her.

"Jason, please calm down before we discuss this." asked Anne quietly. But that face of hers did not ease my fiery gaze.

"I AM CALM!" I yelled. She looked at me patiently, waiting for my temper to die down just the slightest bit. After staring at her, some of my anger dissipated. I did say 'some' not 'all'. I was still plenty ticked off.

"You have to understand. I was only trying to help." insisted Anne.

"Help? Help who? How was this going to help in the slightest?" I barked at her. I did not understand how this was beneficial in any way.

"I was helping everyone. I had a vision a few weeks ago and I saw all of us so happy with the Cullens including Bella. She was truly smiling and laughing without the pain for once since she'd been with us. I wanted that to happen. I want her to be happy. Don't you?" she responded calmly.

"Of course I do. That's the whole point, Anne! She's my little sister and he hurt her! That doesn't seem like a good concept of happy to me! By bringing him here you're helping that happen again! He's just going to do the same as he had before, break her heart and I will not tolerate that, Anne! That is unacceptable!" I yelled. Anne shook her head vigorously.

"He won't do that, not again. He learned from the last time. He doesn't want to hurt her. He wants her back." defended Anne.

"Well he won't get her back! She will not forgive him for that!" I yelled somewhat doubting that statement. I didn't know what she would do, that's what scared me most.

"You just hope she doesn't! She will. I've seen it." she promised. Did she seem to forget that sometimes her visions are inaccurate?

"You visions don't always come true, Anne! We all know that! This is going to be one of them because he's not getting within a mile of her otherwise I will rip him apart and burn the pieces. I swear I will, Anne!" I replied with my own promise. Anne glared at me. Why was she defending him?

"You will not do that because that will cause Bella more pain than she is in now! I will stop you and I will not let you cause his family any pain because of that either!" she yelled back.

"Why are you defending him?" I asked venomously.

"Because unlike you I took the time to listen to their side of the story and I know how he really feels. I know the actual reasons. They are very kind and noble." responded Anne quieter but still mad at me for some unknown, insignificant at the moment, reason.

"What reason could he possibly have that would be defined as kind and noble, huh?" I questioned loudly, my gaze not leaving her face. Her expression softened. She looked down and back at me with sad eyes. Mine turned suspicious in return. What was she up to?

"Jase, do you love me?" she asked. I rolled my eyes. She knew the answer to that. I made no secret to the fact that I love her.

"Of course I do, Anne. I love you more than anything in the world. What does that have to do with anything?" I replied. She ignored my question and responded with her own.

"What would you be willing to do for me?" she asked quietly. My eyes softened a bit but not much.

"I would do anything for you, Anne. You know that." I answered without hesitation. I was sure of that.

"Would you leave me if you thought it was best for me?" questioned Anne again. I hesitated before nodding both not wanting to admit it to her and because I wasn't sure of my ability to leave. I don't know if I'd last very long away from her. I don't think I have the strength to be away from her. There would always be this constant pull in her direction even if I am not anywhere near her. Ever since I've met her my whole life has turned around and strength means so much more. I used to think of strength as something physical but now it's become mental. It takes a lot of mental strength to be away from her. I love her and that makes all just that much harder.

"I would if I had to, if I thought it was the right thing." I responded.

"Then is it even remotely possible that maybe, just maybe, Edward did the same for Bella?" asked Anne. My eyes hardened again.

"That is not the same thing, Anne and you know it!" I yelled. There was no way that was the reason.

"How is it any different, Jase? I honestly don't see the difference. Help me see the difference." countered Anne.

"For one, like Bella said he doesn't love her and secondly I didn't actually leave you, ever." I responded.

"That's because you never had to make the choice, Jason!" she yelled back. "You just admitted you would have left if you thought you were helping me. Edward did the same for her. And for the record, he loves Bella just as much as I love you. You choose not to see it but I do. I see the pain in both of their eyes. Bella's heart broken and Edward's suicidal. Which one is better off because it sure isn't Edward if he's willing to kill himself just so he can be with Bella again?" argued Anne. My eyes softened slightly once again. Was he really like that? I tried to recall my glance at him from my memory but I then remembered that wasn't really looking at him at the time so I don't remember a reaction like that in anyway. What if she was right? Anne wouldn't lie about something like that. That much I knew to be true. Anne is very honest when it comes to something like that. I still don't forgive him but if that was how he felt, I may be able to understand. "You should talk to him, Jase. He had a very unorthodox, very screwed up way of going about his plan but his intentions were pure. You need to hear his side of the story to understand everything." suggested Anne, seeing my uncertain gaze. I shook my head.

"No. I can't. If I do, that will only result in me trying to find ways to kill him. Somehow I think you're right about Bella not being too receptive to that idea, though I would enjoy that even more than I would enjoy beating up your brother for a few measly minutes." I responded, part of me actually contemplating ideas. Anne rolled her eyes. I looked at her upset. She never told me about this or her vision. I guess I understand why she wouldn't tell me about her plan but why not her vision? She used to be able to tell me everything. She's told me every vision, every feeling, every plan. Why not this one if it was a good thing? I may be overreacting but when she hides things from me, it hurts because it feels like she doesn't trust me enough to tell me. "Why?" I asked quietly. Her face appeared perplexed. I clarified. "Why didn't you tell me about your vision? I understand you not telling me your plan but you could have at least told me about your vision." I clarified. Her face turned guilty.

"I wanted to but I didn't know what I was going to do about it. I saw all the futures based on my decisions. I saw what would happen if I hadn't done this and what would have happened. If I hadn't done this, Bella would have run away after seeing him. She would have been gone for a while and I know that you and everyone else need her here. But if I did this, I could at least make this moment on our turf. This way we can help her through it all and prevent her from running off. Look, Jase, she has to face what happened. She's running from it. It's time she embraced it. She can move on or go back to him after that if she wants. But at least she receives some closure." she explained quietly. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of us. One of the first since we'd first started dating. "Are you still mad at me?" asked Anne. I sighed.

"Not really but I do need some time to myself. Anne, I need to be away from all this, from all the confliction inside of me. I want to be able to be ok with this like you but I can't. She's my sister. I take my job as her big brother very seriously and I know it really doesn't make a difference as to what I say but I would like to be able to either support or oppose her decision on my own terms. I need to take this all in. I never thought this would happen so I never worried about what would happen if he came here. And I want time to feel better about you not telling me. I want to tell you it doesn't bother me but it does. Anne, if you want this relationship to work, you need to tell me things like this, especially when it involves my little sister. She's important to me." I answered. Anne looked guilty. "I'm not saying our wedding's off. I will be back in a day or two. I won't be gone long. I promise." I assured her. She nods.

"I'm so sorry, Jase. I love you." replied Anne. I nodded.

"I love you too, Annie." I added before walking over to her and placing a passionate kiss on her lips before walking off into another direction. During my walk I remembered the day I found out about who Anne was.

**I saw that angel again. I left her food and drink and waited on my other customers. I now recognized the stares of the gorgeous woman. I knew when her penetrating stares were on my back. I had gotten used to them. Her eyes always seemed to be trained on me. I figured that out weeks ago when I had glanced at the one staring at me. I looked through my peripheral vision and saw her staring and not at all touching her food. I walked over to her, slightly annoyed and confused. Why did she stare at me?**

"**Miss, is there a problem? You come here, sit at the same table, order the same food, stare at me, never touch the food, and then leave me big tips that I don't even deserve. Why is that?" I asked, needing to know. She smiled and looked thoughtful for a minute.**

"**Easy. I come here to see a certain waiter, who for some reason seems to fascinate me." responded the woman in a chiming voice. Was she talking about me?**

"**Are you talking about me?" I asked, hoping she was. She smiled her radiant smile and nodded. Wow. "Well thank you, Miss." I replied blushing in a way that would put Bella to shame. **

"**Call me Anne, Jason, if you could please." Anne. That sure was a good name for her. I was about to walk off when I got the courage to do something I didn't think possible.**

"**Anne, since you seem to be interested in me, would you like to go out on a date with me?" I asked nervously hoping she would say 'yes'.**

"**I would love to." answered Anne before leaving a big tip again and giving me a peck on the cheek. I watched her walk away in shock. Did that just happen? Aw, man! I forgot to set a date. Dang it! I picked up my tip and saw a white piece of paper in the pile. I read it over. **

_**Jason,**_

_**Here's my number. Don't lose it. Oh and pick me up at seven tomorrow at this address.**_

**On the other side it had her number and her address. Yes! This day was one of the best and I could tell that this girl was something special. No girl is like her. Good.**

_Anne POV:_

I watched my fiancé walk away gracefully. I do really feel bad for not telling him anything about what was going on. He was right. We were supposed to tell each other things like this and when it regards his sister, it's even more important. I just thought I was making things easier. This way he wouldn't be mad at me and make everyone suspicious. Bella was really the only one who seemed to know that I was up to something. She knows me so well. We were best friends and I liked that a lot. I was about to walk back when I had a vision.

_I saw the Cullens were talking when a noise came from the door. Everyone quieted down and gasped softly afterwards. Standing in the doorway of our living room was my brother and the one and only, Bella Swan. Pain was building more and more until I saw her run with no one to run after her. I noticed the clock that said it was five o'clock._

I came out of the vision. Dang it! It's almost five o'clock! I can't get the Cullens out of the house before they got home. I knew I should have paid better attention. My feet ran with as much speed as I could possibly use ran. I had to get there before Bella got there. I could only hope I wouldn't be too late. Please! Please, be on time!

_Bella (finally!) POV:_

John and I had finally gotten the dresses after hours of driving back from Chicago. It had been an interesting ride. John for the first hour tried to think of ideas for revenge. I laughed silently in my head. It was definitely interesting. He felt like she was just trying to annoy him. But suddenly after we stopped for some food for the people who eat human food in our house, John had seemed both sad and angry. I had asked about it but he dismissed the subject. I only managed to get out the fact that he and Anne had a fight. Over what, I have no idea. I wish I did.

It was silent in the black Mercedes. This car honestly reminded me of-. I stopped my thought. I couldn't think of them but unfortunately when I pulled into the driveway that changed. In our long driveway was a black Mercedes exactly like the one we had been driving, a yellow Porsche, a red BMW convertible, and an Aston Martin Vanquish. Two cars looked familiar out of the four and caused my memories and pain to come flooding back.

**"My name is Edward Cullen" I heard in my head the voice of the vampire I had fallen in love with.**

**"What if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?"**

**"I'm the world's best predator, aren't I? Everything about me invites you in — my voice, my face, even my **_**smell**_**. As if I need any of that!"**

**"Yes, you are **_**exactly **_**my brand of heroin."**

**"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…"**

**"If it gets to be… too much, I'm fairly sure I'll be able to leave."**

**"I love you."**

**"Is that what you dream about? Being a monster?"**

**"I will stay with you — isn't that enough?"**

**"Happy birthday"**

**"Well, I wasn't going to live without you."**

**"But what would I do without you?"**

**"Come for a walk with me"**

**"Bella, we're leaving."**

**"Bella, I don't want you to come with me."**

**"You're not good for me, Bella."**

**"I promise that this will be the last time you'll see me. I won't come back. I won't put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I'd never existed."**

**"I **_**swear **_**not to hurt you."**

**"You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."**

The memory of him telling me about how much I was suffering at first in Forks, that statement, was true even now even if I'm thinking of it in a different context. I was suffering. No one knew how badly I was suffering. Everyone saw pain in my eyes. I knew that but what they don't know is that a hole is still there in my chest. Each memory caused another blow, opening the wound more than it had been before. If I had been human, salty tears would be dripping down my cheeks. _Edward, I miss you,_ I thought. I turned John and saw him looking at me in concern. I ignored it and got out of the car. The distance between me and door became smaller with every step I took. John followed silently and cautiously. I got to the door and placed my hand on the knob and turned it, preparing to step inside.

_Edward POV:_

We all sat in the living room awaiting Anne's return. It was silent. No one would say a word but I knew even without my gift what they were thinking. No one quite understood why Jason seemed so infuriated. We heard steps sound on the back porch and a car readying to pull in. Anne came in from the back door looking at us frantically. Jasper had gotten ready to say something but she placed her finger on her lips in a gesture to stay silent. We all then heard two figures make their way up the driveway. One had a scent of freesia and strawberries. That scent was torture. It was Bella's scent when she was human but it seemed to have a vampire scent mixed in it. If I hadn't known any better I would have said it was Bella's scent but she was dead. I saw her grave. There was no way. The door opened and the scent came to me even harder. I took a brief glance at Anne and saw her biting her lip nervously. Before I could find out why, two steps resonated in the doorway of the living room.

An audible gasp formed. I turned my head and saw the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Long brown hair, pale skin, eyes that I had once remembered as brown but now gold were shown outside the room. She was a beauty. She was a vampire. She was Bella. Bella was here. She was alive. My Bella was alive. I felt a surge of joy and relief spread. All I could do was stare. My golden eyes met hers. In them I saw the undeniable pain I had caused her. It made guilt take me over. What had I done to this angel that used to love me so?

_Bella POV:_

I walked in the door and made my way into the doorway of the living room, following Anne's scent. When I had gotten in the doorway I had seen Anne standing there. She sent me an apologetic look before turning her gaze on someone on her right. I knew them. It was Jasper Hale and my old best friend Alice. Jasper's and Alice's eyes were wide in shock? I looked around and next to them were the equally shocked Emmett and Rosalie. Both had the same expressions on their own faces. My eyes made their way around again and next to them were Carlisle and Esme. Next to them was the man I never thought I'd see again.

He was there, as beautiful as ever if not more so due to my improved eyes. I thought he was beautiful before but I was even more stunned by his beauty. This was the vampire I had fallen in love with ten years ago, the one that left me, the one I was still so madly in love with regardless of his decision. Edward was here. My wound tore open even more they had been before. My chest ached. The pain was unbearable but I couldn't turn my gaze from his eyes. In his eyes, I saw a look of hope, shock, and joy. What were all those emotions about? Emma would have known if that's what…oh no. I thought of the missing family members. How would they react to all this? How would Edward react? How should I react now? A part of me says I should stay but another part tells me to run. Which part do I listen to? After a minute I made my decision.


	6. Ch5: Love, Agony, and Sisters

**AN: Hey all! Sorry that it's been so long. I meant to update earlier this weekend but I got distracted. I've been trying to update every other week, alternating between my two stories. Here's the next chapter. Please review if you like it. I would like to hear your take on what you think will happen. Sorry if it's short! Thank you to all you reviewers! **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Twilight. That's Stephanie Meyer. Some quotes are from the books New Moon and Breaking Dawn. **

**Chapter Five**

_Bella POV:_

I would stay. I would stay for my family. They needed me; I knew this to be true. Running away wasn't an option. I looked back at my future sister-in-law and noticed her apologetic look was still on her face. She looked like she was waiting for yelling to take place. John however was stationed at the door like he was going to prevent me from running. He looked at me in concern, the same concern he'd had in the car. My gaze drifted back to the Cullens. I avoided looking at Edward. The shock was still visible on all their faces. Slowly, a grin made its way on Alice's face. The pixie ran over to me and embraced me in a big hug. I was slightly shocked but hugged her back. I had truly missed Alice, my best friend.

"I missed you so much, Bella." said Alice while hugging me. She missed me?

"I missed you too, Alice." I replied before we parted. Her grin was still in place.

"You're still my best friend right, Bella?" said Alice with a hopeful expression. She still wanted me to be her best friend? I was completely confused. Didn't she not want me around? Wasn't that why she left?

"Yeah Alice, I'm still your best friend." I responded with a smile. It is great to see Alice again. I had missed her. I had missed them all, especially Edward. The departure of Alice and him were the hardest on me. They were the closest Cullens to me. Alice has been my best friend since the James incident. We had gotten close, especially in the summer. Nothing was going to change that. Her leaving may have hurt but that doesn't change the way I feel about her or any of the Cullens, not even Edward. I took another glance at everyone and asked the question I had been asking myself. "What are you all doing here?" I asked the Cullens. Jasper stood up and walked in mine and Alice's direction.

"We came here because Anne invited us to her wedding." Jasper replied. _Of course she did_, I thought to myself. This was an Anne move. She had always been the one to pull this type of thing. I turned to her and cross my arms as if I were demanding an explanation. She let out a nervous shrug.

"I had a vision." stated Anne. She continued. "I had a vision about all of us being happy for once and with them. It was like we were a family. Pain was no longer present. We were all just happy. Even Johnny-Boy here was happy and that's an absolute miracle." continued Anne, looking at John. I smiled. She always enjoyed picking on her brother. John glared at her.

"I can be happy. I just…choose not to be." replied John. Anne and I laughed. I gazed back at the Cullens. Jasper stood up and walked over to me.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for attacking you on your birthday. It's my fault everything is like this. If I hadn't attacked you-" apologized Jasper. I cut off his last sentence by placing a finger on Jasper's lips.

"Jasper, I don't blame you. You have nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault. As for the accident on my birthday, I've already forgiven you for that. I forgave you the moment it happened. You didn't have any control over it. I know that. It's ok. I never blamed you." I responded. Anne looked at him.

"I told you, Jazz Man, that she forgave you." added Anne. Emmett walks up and picks me up while embracing me. It was one of his bone crushing hugs, the ones that would have hurt me had I still been human.

"I missed you, Bella. You're my favorite clumsy, blushing, human" yelled Emmett. I laughed as he swung me in the air.

"I missed you too, Emmett. You do realize I'm not human anymore right, Emmett?" I laughed.

"Well yeah but who cares. You're still my favorite." replied Emmett. I chuckled again.

"Well, you are my favorite teddy bear of a brother." I added. He laughed and let go of me. Carlisle and Esme then came up and hugged me.

"We missed you, sweetheart." said Esme, sweetly and motherly. I close my eyes. I missed Esme and Carlisle so much. They were like my second parents. They accepted me into their family. It was something I had always been grateful to them for.

"I missed you guys too. You guys are like my second parents." I commented. Esme smiled at me, as did Carlisle.

"You are like our daughter, Bella. We love you very much." replied Carlisle. They held on to me for a few minutes. When we parted, I saw Rosalie come up and hug me. That shocked me. I'd always thought she had hated me.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm sorry we never got along. I'm sorry I treated you so badly. I really do care about you, Bella. I was just jealous. You could have had all the things I wanted. You could be human when I couldn't. You had the opportunity to have kids, an opportunity I wish I had. I resented you for that. But I never hated you. I'm sorry. I realize now how much Edward loves you. I really did miss you, Bella." said Rosalie. I hugged her back.

"I missed you too, Rosalie. I've always admired you for your strength and the way you get protective of your family. You're a great woman." I replied. She smiled.

"Thank you, Bella." she said. "I really do love you like a sister. It just took me a while to accept you." I nodded.

"It's ok, Rosalie. I hold nothing against you." I commented before we parted. My topaz eyes then met his. We stared at each other for about a minute before Anne chimed in.

"I think we should give them some privacy. Why don't we go to the field and play some baseball?" suggested Anne.

"YES! Let's do it." yelled Emmett. I chuckled. Anne and the others left while I stared at Edward.

I knew I had missed him but I never knew I missed him this much. I stared into his eyes and the wound in my chest opened further. I saw the pain hidden in his eyes and couldn't help but wonder as to why those feelings were in his eyes. Edward walked up to me, so close that I suddenly felt like I needed to touch him, to hug him. But that need was satisfied when Edward embraced me.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry." whispered Edward in my ear. _Why was he sorry_, I wondered. I melted into his hug. "I never should have left you. I missed you so much, Bella. I thought I had lost you." I was confused. Why did he miss me when he didn't want me? We parted from our embrace which was warmer than I remember. Although since I'm a vampire, it makes perfect sense seeing as I'm the same temperature he is.

"I don't understand." I admitted. His eyes looked into mine, containing an emotion I could not quite determine in his eyes.

"Bella, I love you." declared Edward, stunning me completely. He loves me? My mind raced due to all the confusion. What happened? He told me he didn't love me. One of those statements was false. The question that remains is: which one is the lie? The doubt must have been visible in my eyes that had used to contain the color of brown because he continued, reassuring me. "Bella, I really do love you. Everything I said to you that day in the forest that day was an absolute lie. I lied to you because I needed you to let go. You weren't letting go. I needed to say something so you could move on with your life after I was gone. I didn't want to leave but I had to." explained Edward. Too bad it wasn't a good enough explanation. I was still baffled. If he loved me, why leave?

"Why did you have to leave?" I asked quietly, so low that no human would have heard me. I couldn't say it any louder. The pain was flooding back along with the memories of that horrific day, the day my world came crashing down. I remembered every word. Edward asking me to walk with him to later tell me he doesn't want me.

**"You… don't… want me?" I had asked at the time.**

**"No." he had replied.**

It's surprising how much one miniscule word could affect a person. That one word tore my heart into pieces and opened an unbearable wound in my chest. My heart had ached for him the last ten years nevertheless. Despite his words, I still had missed him. The evidence of him from my brain, my human memories, never faded. The memories were still as clear as they had been when I was mortal. I had been lucky to retain my memories from my human life. They had left me of some undeniable proof of his existence in my life. They comforted and pained me. Two conflicting emotions hit me because of them: love and agony. Agony because of how much his words toward the end of our relationship hurt. Love because regardless of how much he hurt me, I will always love him.

I watched Edward, waiting for his reason as to why he left. He heard my question. I knew that and he seemed to be contemplating his answer before gazing back into my eyes with even more agonizing pain than I had. Is it possible he suffered as much, if not more, as I? Could his leaving possibly have hurt him too? I listened as his smooth, musical voice formed words into explanations. Edward looked down, guiltily.

"I thought I was protecting you." Edward finally answered almost a whisper to even vampire hearing. I stared at him. He thought he was protecting me? What did he want to protect me from? What could have been so dangerous that he would leave me to keep me safe? None of his words were making any sense. Edward glanced up at me and saw my incomprehensive look and sighed. "I wanted you to have a normal life, Bella. You know that. I thought that if I had left you, you could have that. I put you in so much danger just by being around you. If something were to have happened to you because of me, I would feel guilty for the rest of my existence. But I couldn't turn you into a vampire. I couldn't take away your soul. I couldn't turn you into a monster like me."

"First of all: Wasn't it my choice? I wanted to be with you more than anything. My life was nothing without you. I felt this dark pit of emptiness without you in my life. Second of all: You are NOT a monster. You are a good person. You've saved my life over and over again. You gave me more things than you could possibly imagine. How is any of that monstrous in any way?" I countered, naming off my reactions. He smiled a little of his crooked smile.

"You sound like Anne." commented Edward. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What?

"What do you mean?" I asked, taken aback by his comment.

"Anne asked the family for our story and I told her that I thought of myself as a monster and she told me I wasn't. She also made a point out of my saving your life on a few occasions and asked how that was monstrous." explained Edward. I nodded taking it all in. It was silent for a brief moment until Edward spoke again. "Bella, I'm sorry. I know I should have let you choose but I thought I was doing what was best for you. I really did think I was saving you. Your life is more important to me than my own existence. I couldn't let anything happen to you and I couldn't ruin any chance at an angel like you going to heaven. It wouldn't have been right. You say your life was nothing without me but mine is nothing without you. The moment I left you, the pain I was feeling was excruciating and that pain increased a year later." I was curious again.

"What happened a year later?" I asked. Edward looked at me with that utter despair once again.

"I came back to Forks. I came back to you." said Edward before pausing, taking in my reaction. He came back for me? My mind hoped for this to be true, to not be the false statement. "I went to your home with Alice so we could talk. Alice couldn't wait to see you and Charlie would react better with her there. It was there that Charlie told me you had died. That was the worst feeling imaginable to me. I felt like there was a piercing fire in me." I shuddered at the idea of him on fire. It was an undesirable picture for me, a painful picture. "Every part of me wanted to believe he was wrong, that maybe you were still alive but I couldn't actually deny it. If it weren't for Alice, I would have been in Volterra, Italy, begging the Volturi to kill me."

"WHAT?!" I yelled, angry. How dare he even consider that! Edward was shocked to say the least. I believe he somehow forgot we had this conversation before and I told him NOT to do that! What was he thinking?

"I wasn't going to live without you, Bella." declared Edward, still surprised by my reaction.

"Just because I die doesn't mean you can kill yourself, Edward! We've had this discussion before!" I shouted still infuriated.

"What was I supposed to do?" asked Edward, not raising his voice in the slightest.

"You were supposed to do what you were doing before I complicated your existence. What if you had gone to Italy? Edward, we wouldn't be here. If I found out you were dead…It would have killed me, Edward. It's just as hard for me to lose you as it is for you to lose me. I was already trying to live day by day without you, trying for my family. They partially knew my pain but they didn't know the half of it and it would have been worse if I had known you were dead, no longer existing. I would have felt that fire you were describing to me earlier. Losing you wouldn't just hurt me. It would kill me, Edward." I replied. Edward looked at me even more in shock than he was previously.

The thought of losing Edward, of someone hurting him gave me this terrible pain. How could he honestly expect this to mean nothing to me? How can he not realize that he is very important to me? I told him to not do something like that. We had already gone over this on my birthday as we were watching _Romeo and Juliet _at my home in Forks. Why does he suddenly think that just because he left, I don't care if he lives or dies? Losing Edward would cause more pain that resolving any of it. I would be in consistent agony. The pain Edward was describing was the same pain I would have felt.

"I never knew you felt that way." responded Edward quietly. We were silent for another moment but this time I was the one that broke the silence.

"Edward, if you had found me at my house, what would you have done?" I asked, wondering how different things would have been had I stayed in Forks. Edward gazed into my eyes, lovingly. I could determine that emotion now. It was the feeling he kept talking about. It was how I was feeling.

"I would have gotten down on my knees and begged you to forgive me and take me back." answered Edward. He sounded so serious.

"Be serious, Edward." I replied. His gaze did not change nor did his tone.

"Oh, I am. I would have done anything to get you back." added Edward before asking his own question. "Now since you asked your question, I would like to ask one of mine." I nodded encouragingly, needing to know his question. "There's been something that's been bugging me since the forest. I wanted to know how you could believe me so easily when I told you I didn't want you after the many, many times I had told you I loved you. I didn't understand how one word I said could break your faith in me."

"You know those aren't really questions." I pointed out. Edward looked at me sternly, demanding an explanation. I sighed. "Because it never made sense for you to love me." I confessed, looking down. I felt a finger lift my chin and saw his face coming closer to me. His lips met mine in my first kiss in ten years. I felt the passion, the fireworks, and the shock once again in that contact but before we could get too far I pulled away. I saw Edward's face resemble slight pain, thinking I was rejecting him. I looked down. "I can't."

"Why not?" asked Edward, quiet once again. The pain was still there in his voice.

"If you leave again, I won't be able to take it." I admitted, still not looking at him.

"Bella, look at me." replied Edward. I did as he wanted me to and looked at him. Pain wasn't there. His hand softly touched my right cheek. The electricity was back. "I'm not leaving you ever again. I will always regret leaving you. The question is: Are you able to forgive me after everything I did to you? Do you still love me the way I love you?"

"What kind of question is that?" I asked. He should know the answer to those questions. He looked at me sternly. "My feelings for you haven't changed and they never will. I love you, Edward, always will." I declared before kissing him myself this time losing myself in the kiss. I missed the contact over the years. When I was still human, I had hoped we would see each other again. But I could never even fathom how much this one moment meant to me or the idea that he loved me. It was nothing like the kisses from when I was human. It was more passionate. I was finally strong enough to not put those barriers on our kisses. He'd definitely been holding back on me when I was mortal. We broke apart unwillingly, both wanting more but still needing to reconcile with more than just kisses.

"You've been holding out on me." I accused, pouting and crossing my arms. Edward chuckled. I was glad to see his eyes filled with happiness. It gave me a great feeling knowing I was the reason.

"I had to keep you safe. I didn't want to hurt you by taking it too far." pointed out Edward, still in close proximity with me.

"You and keeping me safe." I said, shaking my head. He really did have a knack for worrying about me, for thinking about the many ways he could protect me. Edward smiled my favorite crooked smile, the one I hadn't seen in ten years. He then pulled me into another warm embrace. I took in his honey scent and leaned into the embrace, placing my head onto his shoulder. This was the perfect moment. It was like before with only a few reminders of the past. Edward breathed a tiny, happy sigh.

"I missed you so much, Bella. I love you. I promise not to ever leave you, not again." said Edward quietly in my ear. It was then that my fear of his breaking his promise came back. What if he broke that promise? What if he left me again?

"Edward, don't promise something like that to me." I replied in an equally quiet voice. Edward and I pulled apart and in his eyes I saw anger.

"You think I'm lying to you about this?" I shook my head.

"No, I don't believe you're lying but Edward what if something does happen? What if you find someone else?" I asked. I was still a little confused as to why he would want a girl like me when he could have anyone he wanted. His eyes softened.

"There's never going to be a 'someone else' for me. Bella, I love YOU. That fact will never change. You are the only one for me, my only love. You are incredibly smart, kind hearted, open minded, selfless, and perceptive person. You're stubborn when there's something you want and you are beautiful, inside and out. You're perfect." assured Edward.

"You really think so?" I asked. He nodded.

"Indescribably so." added Edward before placing a kiss on my forehead. "Bella, you are my life, my soul, my everything. This frozen heart of mine will always and forever belong to you. You're the only one for me." I smiled. I then noticed that the wound in my chest was inexistent. It was not healed but like it had never existed in the first place. He then looked nervously toward me. "I need to know, Bella. Has there been anyone else for you?" he asked. I smiled and placed my hand on his cheek.

"There has never been anyone else. No one could ever compare to you. You are the only one I could ever love. You say I'm your life but you're mine. I'm yours, forever." I responded. It was true. I would love him, always. There was no one to take his place in my heart.

"So you don't love John or Jacob?" asked Edward. I stared at him a minute and laughed at his assumption. Jacob and I were only friends. We're not as close as we had been previously but that was due to his imprint. John and I had the same relationship but closer. John had been the one to listen when I needed someone to talk to, to actually hear me without judging anyone. Talking to my brother about the Cullens was difficult because Jason wouldn't really listen to what I was saying. He'd had a bias toward me because I was his sister and I needed someone's take on the situation without that bias. The idea of John and I together just made me laugh.

"Edward, Jacob and I are only friends. That will never change. He's given away his heart already. As for John and I…John's like the little brother I never had. Unlike Jase, he's not too protective nor is he careless toward me. We like to pick on the other. He's just someone I can talk to about anything. He's the most open minded between him and Jason. I love that he's that way. I wouldn't want him any other way. Besides, his heart belongs to a woman he had lost years back and I gave mine to you ten years ago. It's always been yours." I explained, telling him the truth. Edward smiled obviously happy with my answer. I looked at him vulnerable once again. Him leaving was still a fresh thought in my mind. It was so terrifying, so heartbreaking to me. "Just don't leave me again, Edward." Edward took my hand in his and gazed into my eyes with a loving stare.

"I'm never going to leave you again. I'm not going anywhere without you, not this time. I never want to be away from you ever again. The separation would hurt even more than you realize. Bella, I'm not as strong as you give me credit. It took everything in me to be away from you for even a year. I had already been passed living without you day by day and was trying to live hour by hour without you. It was the hardest thing next to leaving you that day in the forest. I can't leave you anymore. I can't live without you. I need you. I need you even more now knowing that you're alive and you're here. I would never be able to keep myself away long enough. I have no reason to leave. I honestly thought I was protecting you and you still became a vampire." replied Edward. "Who changed you by the way?" he had asked.

"Jason and John changed me. I was dying and the two of them were not going to let me die. I was Jase's sister and he sure wasn't going to lose me and John had already considered me his sister. Anne already said she would have done it herself if none of them would do it. She felt the same way they did." I explained.

"Why were you dying?" asked Edward worriedly. I shook my head. I couldn't answer that, not right now. He might change his mind if he found out the reason. He couldn't know, not until the time was right. Right now was a time for Edward and I to talk about the past. That detail would have to wait.

"I can't tell you right now, Edward. I swear I will tell you later but right now I don't want to talk about that. We can talk about that later, I promise." He nodded. "Where do you think we should go from here?" I asked him. Edward sighed.

"I don't know. You tell me what you want. I will do whatever you ask." answered Edward, leaving me the decision. What should I do?

_Mystery POV:_

I swear if I am forced to go shopping again, I'm going to quit helping with the wedding. See I thought when we were helping prepare the wedding, I thought we were going to help decorate and make plans, not shop. I've always hated shopping. I felt it was the most tedious activity. I sat in the car with my sister, Emma. Emma had this thing for cars and her favorite car was the red Ferrari Mom had found and bought her for our birthday last year. Well, technically John had found the car. Mom's not into cars like Emma or John. She just knew the basics. I had gotten a black Kawasaki motorcycle as my birthday present. Don't get me wrong. I love my motorcycle but I just haven't used it since my sister's been dragging me around town in her car like today. I'll admit it I volunteered to go with her but I never knew that she got the long list. Anne was not taking this wedding business lightly. She had everything bought today. I get this feeling she was trying to keep us away from home but I'm not the empathic one of my siblings. That would be Emma. She always knows when someone's feeling something, emotions wise that is.

We had been out for nearly six hours, doing the errands and stopping for food. SIX HOURS! Emma and I actually had to eat. The only reason I had agreed to coming with Emma was because I didn't want to get stuck with the love birds, except one of them was a wolf not a bird. I would be with my girl, Taylor, right now if she hadn't decided to take a trip with her parents and said Emma and I should spend time together. She liked to make sure nothing was coming in between my family and I, including her. She could never be a problem though. My family all loved her. My mother adored her and my sisters were her best friends. It really wasn't a problem but I can't resist her. She's my love and always will be. I continued to think of her.

"Relax, lover boy. We'll be home soon." commented Emma, rolling her eyes while driving. She knew exactly who I was thinking of. _He can't be away from her for six hours. It's not that bad. He hasn't said much either. He's such a push over when it comes to his Taylor_, I heard her thinking.

"I am not a push over and yes being out six hours is that bad." I argued. Emma rolled her eyes again. It was like a habit of hers.

"You are too a push over when it comes to her. All she has to do is make it look like she's pouting and she's reeled you in like a fish. You're like a puppy dog when it comes to her." replied my sister. "She can get you to do anything she wants. You can't be away from her for a few measly hours."

"Six hours is in no ways, measly to me. Six hours feels like a century." I complained. I missed Taylor. All I wanted to do was hear her voice and hold her close in my arms and never let her go. I wanted to kiss her senseless.

"You are such a drama queen!" replied Emma, laughing a musical laugh.

"I am not!" I yelled. Great! Now I was sounding like a little kid. _You have got to admit it, you're being ridiculous. And you think Jake is that bad. You're worse. You can't bear to be away from her for even a minute_, she thought toward me. Someday she's going to fall in love with a guy, not much of an appealing thought but it has it advantages, and then I'm going to laugh and pick on her when she can't be away from him.

Emma and I do not always get along, especially when it comes to things like this. We have sibling to sibling fights all the time. It's like the John vs. Jason thing but we get along better than that and we're actually related. I love my sister but she can be a big pain. _I hate you sometimes, Emma_, I thought to Emma. My thoughts can reach her when I want them too. I'm just that good. Emma laughed. _Yeah, whatever_, I heard in my head. I looked to the driver's seat to see Emma laughing. I rolled my eyes. Great! Now I'm picking up her habits! I need to see Taylor. I suddenly heard a sound that made me ecstatic, my phone ringing. I felt a wave of disappointment wash over me when I saw that the caller was Anne. I still answered.

"Hey." I greeted, sad.

"Aw, you were hoping I was Taylor, weren't you?" Anne asked over the phone. Was I that transparent?

"Yeah, I was actually. Am I that transparent?" I replied. I heard Anne laugh and saw Emma doing the same.

"I don't have to be Emma to know that you love Taylor and can't stand to be away from her very long, honey." answered Anne, laughing. "I don't hold it against you. I feel the same way about Jase sometimes. Anyway, I called to invite you to a game of baseball. John and I are awaiting the rest of the family for recruits so we wanted to know if you wanted to play with us. We're playing with some friends of ours." she explained.

"Baseball, huh? Sounds good to me. I'll play." I looked over and saw Emma nod in acceptance. She heard the phone as easily as I did. "Emma will play too." I informed her. I heard Anne squeal.

"Great! I'll call everyone else. See you guys in thirty minutes." replied Anne. It was then the line cut off. She seemed too excited, even for her. Something was up and I was determined to find out what.

**AN: Anyone got a guess at who this is?**


	7. Ch6: Talks and Mom?

**AN: ****Sorr if this is short but this is the most I can do right now. Sorry for not updating earlier. Hope you enjoy it! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Twilight or the characters just my own.**

**Chapter Six**

_Edward POV: _

I watched Bella deliberate about what to do about our relationship. She was still as beautiful as ever. She looked so similar to how my Bella had before she'd turned into a vampire, when she'd been human. The only slight difference was her eyes. Her eyes that had once been a shade of chocolate brown were now a perfect shade of topaz, matching my eyes and those of my family's. Her eyes were so different yet the same. They seem to hold the same love that I used to see in her eyes back when she was human with a hint of the pain I had caused. I cringed at the thought of all the pain I had caused Bella.

I had not wanted to cause her pain, just help her, help her live a normal life. Leaving her was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. She was my life, still is, and I would do anything for her. I had to leave her. She had to get her chance at living a life without me, without the perils of what my presence in her life presents. If Jasper had hurt her that night, if I had hurt her, I never would have forgiven myself for placing her directly into harm's way. The guilt of losing her would be more than overwhelming but not anymore so the actual thought of losing her. I had felt that loss and guilt before. Guilt because when I believed she was dead I thought I could have saved her had I been there. But the guilt did not even compare to the loss. The loss, had Alice not foreseen it, would have taken me to the Volturi. The agony was too much to bear, though I had deserved every part of it seeing as I had caused her more pain than anyone else ever had.

I always thought she would find someone else. I had always thought I would lose my chance with her the moment I left her, yet here she was, deliberating her decision. The waiting was killing me. Patience was not always my forte and never knowing what she was thinking had always upset me. Disappointment still remained. Even as a vampire herself, I can't read her mind. Why was it always her mind that was private? I was still trying to figure her out. I waited for the words to come out. She didn't want to be together. She shouldn't after what I had done. She gave me her entire heart and I had shattered it. The most precious thing in my existence was broken because of me. I saw all the pain I had caused. It was all my fault. I knew that much. I could tell just by the way she looked at me. Pain was there in her eyes, undeniable pain. Everything we had was tainted by that one mistake I had made ten years ago. I had hurt her and now I would suffer the consequences, her never trusting me enough for us to be together.

"I don't know what we should do." sighed Bella in her bell-like voice. I waited. I knew more words were coming, the ones I fear. "After everything that has happened I don't know if I can trust you." admitted Bella. There were the words. _I don't know if I can trust you._ Those were some words that gave me every reason to believe she wanted nothing to do with me anymore. I was disappointed but not surprised.

"I don't blame you. After what I did…I wouldn't trust me. I hurt you and that's unforgivable. I shouldn't be given a second chance by an angel like you. You deserve better than someone who broke your heart. I want what is best for you, what you want and I understand if it means us no longer being together." I responded quietly, looking down at the ground. She placed her hand under my chin and lifted my head up so my eyes met hers. She smiled a gentle smile.

"I didn't say I don't want to be with you. I love you, Edward. Nothing will ever change that. I'm just saying we need time before we really do anything. We need to take it slow. We shouldn't start furthering our relationship anymore than we had before. No more moments like the one we had on the night before you left. I don't regret it. I just don't think it would be best for us right now." I nodded. I agreed. This isn't the right time for things like that. "I just need time to adjust, to trust you with my heart again. I can't give it away like I did before. It nearly tore me apart. I don't think I could bear it if you left again and I would like it if my whole family could accept you into my life before we got too serious." amended Bella. I thought of her family and knew one in particular that would be hard to be accepted by.

"Your brother, Jason?" I asked, knowing that was a main person she wanted me to be accepted by. She nodded.

"Jase has been there for me countless times. He felt it was his job as my older brother to protect me from everything. He takes that to a seriously critical level. I have noticed the fact that he is very overprotective. He would do anything to protect me. Sometimes he's a bit of a hot head and he's very stubborn. He's also very sweet and comforting in times of need. Every tear when I was small, every tear I had before coming to Forks, and all the tears after leaving Forks I had shed with him. He was the one person I could always count on as a child and he still is one of my strongest confidants next to Anne and John. The others in my family, whom you will meet later, are not as close as I am to them. Some of them confide in me but I prefer to tell those three my problems than worry the rest of my family. I am very transparent around Jase, John, and Anne. They always know when something's wrong. I'm honestly surprised Jase isn't here. I thought he'd be here and yell." answered Bella. He would have yelled. I noticed that anger in his eyes when he looked at me. He wanted to hurt me. I knew that but I would not tell her that. I deserved it.

"I saw him. He and Anne left and only Anne came back. She looked a little upset." I explained.

"I knew something wasn't right with her." she stated and looked back at me. "Anne is sort of a sensitive vampire. But when she's upset she finds something to focus on so she doesn't have to deal with it. She does this most of the time she and Jase have a big fight. I guess this whole thing is distracting her enough. She looked like she was trying to avoid something. I can't believe Jase just left." she explained sadly. She didn't want him to leave.

"Will he come back soon?" I asked.

"I think so. No matter how bad the fight, Jase always comes back."

"He's left before?" I asked.

"Not really. He's gone out by himself a few times but that's about it. The point is that Jase cannot stay away from Anne for more than five hours. It hurts him to be away from her. I expect he'll be home within a few hours. He's not the type to leave for a few days. He needs Anne. It's kind of like you told me before when you said I was your brand of heroin-" she explained.

"You still are my brand of heroin, Bella." I added, interrupting her sentence for a minute.

"Well Anne is Jase's brand of heroin. He gets as anxious as you and I do when we're away from each other. Jase can't resist her anymore than I can resist you." she continued with a smile on her face. I smile at her last sentence and gaze into her topaz eyes. How is it that an angel like her could love me nearly as much as I love her? I will never understand how she could forgive me so easily.

"I will never understand how you could forgive me so easily after what I did. It was the worst mistake imaginable for me to make." I stated, looking into her eyes.

"Sometimes we make mistakes, especially when it's to save somebody we love. I understand where you were coming from." explained Bella with a soft smile on her face. "We need to stop thinking about the past and start focusing on the present. We can't ignore what happened, I know but we can try and move past it and I will do anything to have what we had again. I love you." she said. I placed my hand on her cheek and gazed at her.

"I love you, too. I love you more than anything. You were my life before and are my life now. Nothing will ever change that." I said before taking her into my arms and kissing her. I held her close to me. To feel her in my arms, it was the most amazing feeling I have had in a long time. It was good to have her in my arms again but this time I wouldn't have to let her go. Oh how I love her. All I wanted now was to be like this forever.

_Jason POV:_

One hour, two minutes, and forty-nine seconds. One hour, two minutes, and fifty seconds. One hour, two minutes, and fifty-one seconds. One hour, two minutes, and fifty-two seconds. One hour, two minutes, and fifty—I'm pathetic. I keep trying to run but all I succeed in doing is killing some time. Even then, that's not much time. The only thing that's running through my mind is the time since I had run away from her and her face when I had done so. Dang it! I can't even last two hours away from her. Somehow she keeps pulling me back in. I needed some time away but I can't bring myself to stay away for a while. I'm completely pathetic. Why did I have to be such a sucker for a pretty face?

As my thoughts of time ran through my brain, I heard my phone ring. I hesitated in answering it. If it was Anne, I would go running back before I was truly ready. If it was Bells, I would do the same. I picked up the phone and checked the caller ID. Well, well, well what an unexpected surprise. The blue screen lit up with the name Johnny-Boy. I picked up the phone.

"What do you want?" I asked bluntly. I don't like John. John doesn't like me so our feelings are mutual.

"Hello to you, too." said John, annoyed.

"Look if you are calling to yell at me, I'm sorry. I just can't be around Anne no matter how much I want to. I need to sort things out in my head." I replied.

"And have you accomplished that?" questioned Johnny-Boy with a teasing edge to it, knowing the answer.

"Shut up! " I yelled, thoroughly annoyed. He laughed. Did I mention I hate him? "Why were you calling in the first place?" I fumed. He sighed.

"Well I was honestly was calling to tell you to come home. Anne misses you. As soon as all this stuff with the Cullens settles, she'll have nothing to distract her from you and personally I don't want to see her in pain." admitted John with a sigh.

"Well neither do I but she lied to me. She didn't tell me the truth about her vision. Then she tells me all this stuff about how I don't know all the facts and tells me things about Cullen that doesn't make sense. I need time to process this stuff. I need to figure out whether or not I trust Cullen in any way, especially around my sister. But I can't bring myself to stay away from Anne. Everything's just gotten so much more complicated with the Cullens involved. It used to just be our family and then the Cullens come and we have a few problems."

"You can't blame them for everything." he replied.

"I don't blame them all. I blame him. He left my sister broken and now it's like he thinks he can just waltz back into her life after ten years."

"Jason, he thought she was dead. Personally, I think he would have come back. Edward's eyes were clouded with pain. His family told me he came back and found out she was dead. He was broken then himself. He never looked that hurt."

"Yeah well, I'm still pretty mad at him. My sister shouldn't have been hurt. She's too kind and sweet. I can't understand why anyone would want to hurt her." I responded.

"Me neither but you need to let Bella decide what she wants to do. She needs to make her own choices. If Edward leaves her again, hurts her, you'll be free to hurt him all you want and I'll be helping. Just stop worrying about whether or not he's good enough for her and just come home and see your fiancée. You don't really have any reason to be mad at her."

"I know. I just hate secrecy. It's bothered me for the longest time. I hate secrets and people keeping them from me. I guess some of my anger came from that. I'm a bit of a hot-head." I admitted.

"You actually admit to that? Wow! Call the press!" teased John.

"You are so funny, Johnny-Boy. I'm laughing hysterically." I said.

"I know! I'm awesome." replied John.

"Oh yeah, you're just the coolest vamp ever." He laughed and I shook my head.

"Anyway, there was another reason why I called. Um, the whole family is getting together with the wolves and the Cullens to play baseball and I wanted to know if we could count you in." said John. I was suddenly excited.

"Of course you can count me in. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Alright, see you later, Swan."

"You too, Andrews." I answered back before hanging up on him.

I turned my back and ran in the direction I had originally come from, back to where my heart was, to my Anne. What would happen when I got there, I had no clue. Right now I would run and deal with things as they come. As for the situation with Cullen…I would let Bella choose. One wrong move and he'd get it. I make good on my threats.

My feet moved swiftly over the grass until I came into the field. I saw the Cullens, John, and Anne talking. I cleared my throat and eight heads turned my way, one being shocked. How could she not have foreseen this? I walked forward until I reached her and gazed deeply into her eyes.

_Anne POV:_

I turned my head and saw a sight I had not expected to see. There in between two trees stood my fiancé, my Jase. How had I not seen this? Why was he back so soon? He looked into my eyes and walked over to me. His eyes kept contact with mine and he got closer. He stopped about a foot away from me. He smiled his nervous smile. Oh how I love that smile!

"Hi." he greeted softly.

"Hi." I replied. We didn't say anything as we gazed into each other's eyes. I barely took notice of our audience. "I'm sorry." I said after two minutes of silence. "I know you hate secrets, yet I kept them from you. I thought I was doing what was best. I—" I replied before feeling something soft against my lips. My lips moved in sync with his. We kissed for two minutes before pulling away.

"I know you're sorry. I had no real reason to be mad at you. You thought you were doing the right thing. The truth is, if I were you, I would have done the same thing. I just overreacted. You've just never not told me something. It just upset me. I'm sorry for overreacting. Forgive me?" he said. I stood there stunned. He was sorry? _He_ was sorry? He had no reason to be sorry.

"You have no reason to be sorry. I should've said something. Can you forgive me?" I asked. He put his hand on my cheek and smiled.

"I already have." replied Jase before pulling me into another deep kiss. We pulled away once more.

"Why did you come back?" I asked.

"Did you think I wasn't coming back? Did you not want me to come back?" questioned Jase.

"No, of course I wanted you to come back. I just meant what are you doing back here so early? You told me you'd be gone for a while."

"Well, John called and made me realize how stupid I was being, how I have no real reason to be mad at you. He also told me about the game going on here. Thought I'd lend a hand to my team, whatever team that may be. Also, I love you. I love you and I can't get you out of my head. All I can think about is you. The whole time I was away…the only thought that ran through my mind was the image of you when I told you I was leaving. I was unconsciously counting the amount of time that passed since then. I truly felt pathetic but I realize I cannot be away from you long enough because you have this massive pull. You have more control over me than you know. It is so strong. It was what drew me to you in the first place. It was like a magnetic force that pulled me in and there is not one thing in the world that could pull me away from you. I really do love you, Annie, and I will never take off like that again. Will you forgive me and still be my wife?" he replied. I stood there silently. He really felt that way about me? I knew he loved me but I never knew he was still thinking of me. I too was counting unconsciously from his leave. He felt the same pull that I felt.

"There's nothing to forgive and I would be honored to become your wife. You can't get rid of me that easily, Jase." I replied smiling. He grinned and pulled me into his arms and hugged me closely. We stayed like that until we heard a throat clear. I lifted my head from his shoulder to glare at my brother. John shrugged. I looked at Jase and he was glaring as well.

"Sorry but I think I've seen enough of this lovey dovey crap." said John. Jase lowered his head to my ear.

"Can I kill him?" whispered Jase, loud enough for all in the field to hear him.

"I heard that!" yelled John.

"You were supposed to, Johnny-Boy." replied Jase.

"Will you stop calling me 'Johnny-Boy'? It's very annoying." responded John.

"That's the whole point, Johnny-Boy." yelled Jase before John ran and talked John to the ground and started fighting. I noticed the Cullens walk over to me.

"Are they always like this?" asked Esme. I nodded.

"They fight a lot. They like to get at each other's throats. The only people who are ever able to stop them are Bella and I. But even though they do this, they like each other. They just won't admit it." I explained. We heard some people approach and saw in the field…Bella and Edward, holding hands. I ran up to them, excited to see them together and smiling. "Hi! I'm so happy you guys worked everything out." I said hugging Bella tightly.

"Anne, you are lucky I'm not human because if I was, you would be crushing my air supply although not breathing makes me uncomfortable." said Bella. I let go of her instantly.

"Sorry." I said before giving Edward the same hug. He chuckled. I let go of him and looked at them. "Hey, now that you two are together again, will the two of you help me find a girl for John? He's being a pain in the butt." Bella and Edward both laughed. The Cullens walked over with smiles on their faces. Alice was the first to congratulate them of course. Her reaction was similar to mine. It caused the both of them to laugh. Esme and Carlisle were next. They were glad to see the smile on Edward's face again. Jasper gave each of them a hug, giving Bella another apology. She sighed and told him to forget about it. Rosalie walked up to them and gave them a hug.

"I'm sorry for not being supportive of your relationship in the beginning. I'm truly grateful to you, Bella. You really love my brother and I'm sorry if I thought otherwise. I didn't understand then. I still don't understand how you love him now but…whatever." said Rosalie. Bella and Edward accepted the apology and hugged her back. Emmett then stepped forward and picked Bella up into a large hug and hugged her as tightly as possible. Bella did the same.

"OW! That actually hurts!" said…Emmett. Bella let go. "How is that possible?" he asked. I noticed the fight between my brother and my fiancé had stopped. John walked over, only slightly disgruntled, Jase looking the same. John chuckled.

"Bella never lost her newborn strength. That's how. She's incredibly strong as you noticed." explained John.

"Never challenge her to an arm wrestling contest. You'll lose." commented Jason. I laughed. He was so confident that he would win but her strength never left. He didn't take it so well. His very reaction was interesting by far. He was pouting for a week, claiming he hated Bella. Jacob and John got the biggest kick out of it.

"Maybe but I can pin her down first."

"I doubt it." commented Jason.

"We'll see." replied Emmett. He jumped at Bella but she moved out of the way. He got up swiftly and did the same. This went on and on for about three minutes before Bella got tired of the game and grabbed hold of his arm and flipped him onto the ground and sat on top of him.

"I told you." pointed out Jason.

"You were saying, Emmett?" asked Bella. He glared at her. Edward laughed while the rest of his family tried to hide their amusement. We did the same. Bella looked at Edward with a questionable look.

"He's thinks you're cheating. He thinks you can read minds." said Edward, answering her unasked question. Bella laughed and looked down on Emmett, whom she was still sitting on top of.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Em, but I can't read minds. I can just shield myself, that's it." responded Bella before getting off him. He gets up, still glaring and muttering words none of us could quite hear. We all laughed and heard footsteps approaching.

_Emma POV:_

My brother and I made our way back home and parked my car. I love my car. My car is amazing. It's the best gift I ever received. Of course as soon as we reached the house, Lover Boy went in to see if Taylor was home. She wasn't so he decided to wait. He is such a sucker. The dude is whipped. Jacob's better than he is. Jake can at least spend a day away from my sister. But Lover Boy cannot last even six hours. He and Uncle Jase are more alike than they realize.

I walked out into the forest hoping to get ready to play our game. I go into the field and see something I never thought or wanted to see. There was a part of my family, some other people _(must be the Cullens, I thought)_, and two people in the middle of the field, holding hands.

_Bella POV_:

I looked up as I heard the steps coming into the clearing. The one coming in was Emmalie. She looked at me both angry and shocked. I looked down and saw what she was most shocked at. Edward and I were holding hands. She was furious. I could tell. Her green eyes flared. I watched as she shot me a look and took off. John was about to go after to her but Anne stopped him. I looked at Edward as he shot me a confused look. I gave him a quick kiss before running off after her.

"Emma! Emma! Emma!" I yelled running after her. I finally caught up with her as we came closer to the house. "Emma!" She kept walking and ignored me. "Emmalie Jary Swan!" I yelled. She turned around.

"What, Mom?" she yelled still in a fury.

** AN: So here's the connections:**

**Anne is John's sister (blood related), Bella is Jason's sister (blood related), Emma is the mystery man's sister and they have another sister (blood related). John is single. Anne is with Jason. If anyone is confused feel free to tell me.**


	8. Ch7: Tempers and A Talk With the Big Bro

**AN: Hey all! Sorry for the really late update but I was really busy lately. I finally was able to finish this chapter. So sorry. I hope you all like it. Read and Review!!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!! I own only my characters. **

**Chapter Seven**

_Emma POV:_

I am extremely ticked off. How dare he come back after what he did?! How could she forgive him after what he did?! He hurt her, left her broken. How could he be forgiven for something like that? The image of them holding hands was burned into my conscience. It was not one I wanted to ever see. It ticked me off and proved that she had forgiven him. I hated the ease of forgiveness she had. My anger had made me run from the field. I heard her call my name again and again but each time I ignored her. It was then that I heard my full name.

"Emmalie Jary Swan!" she yelled. I turned around, angry.

"What, Mom?" I responded with venom in my voice. I hated hearing my full name. I hated my middle name. My uncle teased me with it. It was just plain weird. Mom told me it was a mix of my jerk father's brother's and sister's names, Jasper and Alice. Mom looked up Alice's name from when she was human and found out her name was Mary so Mom mixed Jasper and Mary, getting Jary. See there was logic but the product of the mix annoyed me. But that was not the source of my anger. The source of that was her ease of forgiveness. He left her. He left us! After all he did, she should be sending him away not letting him be here. It was just not right. If he really wanted to be a family he would never have left us. I hated him.

As a child, one of the first things I asked was 'Who is my father?' and 'Why is he not here?'. My mother then told me, my brother, and my sister a story about a human girl that fell in love with a vampire. This said vampire had saved her life so many times until he destroyed her himself by leaving. The vampire left her broken and worse...pregnant. Yes. She was pregnant. Apparently they had gotten together the night before he claimed he no longer loved her. That led to the birth of not only one vampire hybrid but three: my sister, my brother, and I. Yes, stupid Edward Cullen was my father. As a child, I would have cried, wanting him home. I had that hope to meet him but as I grew older, and smarter, I resented him more and more. They then festered into hate, hate for my father that had left us all. My brother wasn't much better. He hated him with an even greater passion than me. He had hated our father's guts the moment he found out our father hurt our mother. His hatred manifested each day. He wanted to rip our father apart and burn the pieces. My sister, Nessie, was the only one who didn't hate him. In fact, she would be ecstatic with the idea that he was here and that he was possibly back together with her. It was no secret that she wanted a father. She wanted her parents to be together, to be a family with both parents present. I admired her for her determination for this dream to be a reality but I never thought this would ever happen.

I stared at my mother in fury. She stared back at me with a stern gaze. It was like she was telling me she was the mother and I was the child and that I should do as she says. Well to tell you the truth, I could care less about that dynamic. I was too ticked off to care at this point.

"We need to talk." said my mother. I shook my head.

"We have nothing to talk about, Mom." I spat.

"You're mad. I get it." she said. I interrupted her. She didn't even know how mad I was at her. I was infuriated.

"I am not mad. I am furious. I am infuriated at HIM and you. I am furious at him because he can't just waltz back in after all these years after what he did to you. I am furious at you for forgiving him so easily. You shouldn't forgive him. He left you. He hurt you. He left you broken and pregnant. He left you to raise three kids on our own. How can you forgive him so easily?" I spat.

"You don't understand. It is not as simple as you think. There are some things that make it more complicated than you think. There are some things you just don't know about." she said softly.

"What things? Please tell me what I'm missing here because I would really like to understand." I replied. She was silent for a moment before responding.

"He loves me." I scoffed. _Unbelievable! How could she possibly believe anything that comes out of the liar's mouth!, _I thought angrily. She ignored my scoffed and continued talking. "He truly loves me. He lied in the forest. He thought he was protecting me. He didn't want me to be a vampire and thought leaving me would be the only way to do so. He just wanted to protect me from becoming a vampire. That's all." she said softly.

"Fat lot of good that did, huh?" I hissed. She glared at me.

"Hey! You weren't there and you can't assume anything based on what happened ten years ago! It was just a misunderstanding, nothing else. He realizes what he did wrong. He wants to be with me again and I'm sure that when he finds out about you he's going to want to be a father to you." That did it! He's not my father nor will he ever be!

"I don't want him as a father. In fact, I don't want a father at all. I don't want a part him in any way. No matter what he says to you or does, I will not forgive him. I don't need a father. I've lived ten years without one. I didn't need one then and I don't need one now." I yelled.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked, not believing me.

"Pretty darn." I spat, walking away furiously.

_Bella POV:_

I watched as my youngest daughter stalked off. I have never seen her so angry and somehow I have this feeling that the worst is yet to come. The worst would most likely be my eldest child and only son, E.J. He absolutely hated his father at this point in time. It was no secret how much he loathed Edward. Nessie was by far going to be the most welcoming of my three children. She had no ill will toward Edward for what he did so long ago. Nessie was the most compassionate of the triplets. Emma however was the wild card. I could not imagine how she reacted. Unlike E.J, she made it less obvious that she hated Edward. The funny thing was that Emma and E.J, the ones who resented Edward the most, were the most similar to Edward.

Emma had Edward's old green eyes that I had always dreamed of him having. They were bright green, like shining emeralds. She had my father's curls and my hair color. Her nose and her smile were some features that most reflected her father's look. But her features were not the only things that reminded me so clearly of her father. Emma is stubborn, intelligent, perceptive, passionate, sweet, and cares very much about her family. She loved music, as did her brother. That was a passion I realized they both shared with their perfect father. Nessie loved music but not nearly as much as the others had. E.J has this uncanny look about him. He looked like an exact replica of Edward with his deep green eyes. E.J is as intelligent as his father, loving, charming, stubborn (every single one of the triplets are stubborn), and is very protective of his sisters. He shares the same love with Taylor that I shared with Edward. He has just as hard of a time staying away from her as we did. E.J adores his piano and loves running. He is the fastest runner I have ever seen, even faster than his father. Nessie has her father's bronze hair, her grandfather's curls, my old brown eyes, and Edward's facial structures. Nessie is very kind, receptive, smart, and charismatic. She loves reading just as much as I do. Her favorite book is _Wuthering Heights_. She and I get along great. There was one slight problem though that took some getting used to.

Jacob Black, my old best friend, had imprinted on my daughter. That did not sit well with me. It is still a bit awkward at times. _Speak of the devil,_ I thought as I saw Jacob approaching with, on his arm, my daughter Nessie. Nessie shot me a concerned look as she and Jake walked toward me. Jake's look matched Nessie's. They must have seen Emma running away, clearly upset.

"Is everything ok, Bells?" asked Jake. I debated in my mind, wondering what I should say to them. I decided against it and sent Jake a fake smile. I couldn't mention Edward in front of Nessie, at least not until Edward knew he had children. It would have been slightly awkward if Nessie suddenly ran up to him and started calling him 'Dad'.

"Everything's fine, Jake. Emma's just a little mad at me. That's all." I said, trying sound like Emma's reaction doesn't bother me. Jake looks at Nessie.

"Ness, can you excuse us? I would like to have a word with your mother alone." he asked politely. Nessie gazed at us suspiciously before taking off into the direction of the house. Jake's attention diverted back to me. "What's going on?" he asked me as soon as he noticed Nessie was out of hearing range.

"Don't get mad ok?" I sighed. He sighed back.

"I hate it when you make sentences like that. What is it?" he replied.

"Anne invited some visitors to her wedding." I answered vaguely, knowing it would get on Jake's nerves.

"And…?" he responded. I hesitated before finishing knowing this would not go over well.

"And the visitors happen to be the Cullens." I answered. Jacob's eyes widened in shock then narrowed into anger. I saw his hands ball into fists and his jaw clench. He was just as, if not more, furious as Emma was this afternoon.

Jake still hated the Cullens, especially Edward. Jake hated Edward for leaving me and breaking me the way he did. He too noticed my pain and then saw the life in my eyes when I told him I was pregnant. He said I was happier than he'd seen me since then. He'd come by to see me on occasion after Edward left. Jake saw the pain I was in then and noticed the great difference in me after I reached that revelation. There was some light in my eyes he and Charlie hadn't seen in a while. Charlie though did not ever know about my children. I left before he could find out. Charlie too had been furious at Edward. Jake also hated Edward because he caused Charlie so much worry and such. Jake hated the fact that Charlie had gotten so upset. Edward had hurt me and upset Charlie and Jake didn't like that.

"Bella, please don't tell me you've forgiven him after everything he did to you. He had hurt you, crushed you, broken your heart. How can you even consider forgiving him?" He said, upset and pleading. Hey, he wasn't yelling at me like Emma was. That's a relief to me.

"Jake, you have to understand. Everything was just messed up. Edward thought he was doing the right thing by leaving me. He didn't want me to lose my soul by becoming a vampire. He thought it was best for me. He loves me, Jake. He lied to protect me." I told him, pleading for him to believe me. He looked at me in exhaustion. He was acting like he'd had this conversation before.

"Bella, I'm sorry but he doesn't love you in the way you think. He wouldn't have left you if he did. Bella, he doesn't care that he's hurt you." sighed Jacob. I felt a sudden rush of anger fill me. He shouldn't make assumptions when he doesn't know the facts.

"He does love me, Jacob. You don't know anything. You didn't see the look in his eyes. You didn't hear the pain in his voice. You can't make assumptions like that without talking to him. So don't you try and stop me from staying with him because my heart still belongs to him. It always will." I said firmly. He sighed.

"You are so stubborn." He declared, shaking his head. "And somehow you think those kids of yours inherit his stubbornness. I know that Ness has your stubbornness." I smiled.

"I knew you sounded like you have had this conversation before. Let me guess, you and Nessie fought about this before?" I guessed with a smile. He let out another breath and nodded. "What was the result of the argument? Who won?"

"We called it a draw." he answered.

"You mean you gave up arguing with her because she wasn't backing down." I said with a teasing tone. His face turned disappointed.

"Yes. She's so stubborn. I can never win, Bells!" whined Jake. I laughed. I heard another chuckle from behind me. I turned and saw Nessie.

"That's because I'm right, you're wrong. Daddy loves Mom. I know it. So don't go arguing with me about that." stated Nessie, firmly.

"I thought I asked you to let your Mom and I talk." whined Jake.

"Hey, you guys had your chat. I didn't know what you were saying so you got your conversation. I only heard the end of it. And besides, I needed to tell you that all the wolves are on their way. Seth's the closest to being here." he nodded, accepting this. Jake turned to me.

"I guess we'll see you in the field. Ness and I are going to wait for the pack to get here so they can play." I nodded.

"Alright. I guess I'll see you later." I said walking back toward the field where my love was waiting.

_Edward POV:_

I watched Bella run after brunette girl who had run away from the field. I was confused. Why was Bella so frantic to rush after her like that? I noticed the sympathetic looks coming from her family. Anne looked sad. Jason looked the same and was rubbing circles into Anne's back. John looked like he wanted to run after her too. I glanced at my family and noticed the same confused looks on their faces, even on Alice's. Alice almost never had a surprised look on her face. She should have seen this.

_Poor Emma. She shouldn't have found out like that. I hope she won't be mad at me. Poor Bella. Emma's not going to take this well and will be angry at Bella too. I hope they work things out, _thought Anne.

_Emma's got to be furious. She seemed like she was ready to tear him apart. Somehow I don't think Bella would be receptive to that idea. Maybe for Bella's sake I should give him a chance, _said Jason in his thoughts.

_Emma looked so mad. Should I go after them? I'm worried about Emma. Will Bella be able to get through to her? I want to make sure they're both ok. But I think this moment should be for Bella and Emma to work things out,_ thought John, trying to plan out what he should do.

"Who was that?" asked Alice, finally saying something. Bella's family looked at each other.

"She was one of those other family members I told you Bella should tell you about. I am still standing by what I had said earlier. You all need to hear this from Bella herself, not any of us. All we can tell you is that her name is Emmalie." responded Anne.

"That Emmalie looked really mad. She looked like she wanted to punch someone." stated Emmett. The rest of my family nodded in agreement.

"Yeah she was really mad. She has some issues in regards to you guys for some of the same reasons John and Jase were mad at you. The other stuff…you'll understand later. She really is a sweet girl when you get to know her. She's a little rough around the edges but she's very kind hearted when she wants to be. She just has a short temper."

"I wonder where she gets that from." muttered John. I saw Jason glare at him before turning to me. His face was calculating.

"Edward, can you and I talk alone?" asked Jason. I looked at him then at Anne. She gave me an encouraging look.

_It'll be fine. Jase just wants to talk. He doesn't want to be on Bella's bad side by doing something she was against. It would upset her and right now that is the last thing she needs. If he were going to try anything I would tell you. You're his sister's boyfriend. He just wants to talk to you,_ thought Anne. I looked at Jason and nodded. We walked silently away from the field. We stopped after two minutes of walking, certain we were out of hearing range. We stared at each other, not quite knowing what to say.

"So…you and Bella are together again now, right?" asked Jason, awkwardly. I nodded. This really felt weird. He sighed at my answer. "Ok, look I asked you here because…I don't like you. I don't like you for hurting my baby sister. Now I would tell you to stay away from Bells but I would like to understand something." said Jason, bluntly. I had expected this from him. I was now curious though as to what he needs to understand.

"What is it?" I asked, wanting to explain so he and I would not have issues, for Bella's sake.

"You say you love her, right?" he asked. I opened my mouth to tell him I wasn't just saying it but he stopped me. "Don't tell me you love her. If you love her never would have left." he said, pausing. "But…I can't help this nagging feeling in my gut that tells me there's more to it than that."

"There is. I'm surprised Anne didn't tell you." I replied. He sighed.

"She did but I need to hear it from you. I need to see if you're lying for myself. Anne can be a little too trusting sometimes. I don't want to see her and Bells both be disappointed later on. Don't disappoint either of them. Anne put a lot on the line because she has faith in you. She knew we all would be mad at her for this. She risked her family's feelings toward her because she trusts you. Don't ruin it."

"I won't. I won't disappoint her, either of them. Jason, I know you don't trust me but I love Bella. I really do. With every ounce of humanity I have left, I love her. She's my life. I need her. I made the worst mistake possible by leaving her. When I told her I didn't want her…you have no idea how much I wanted to take that back. But I had to let go. I knew if I truly loved her I had to leave her." I responded. Jason's eyes turned into curiosity and suspicion.

"Why did you leave her, really?" he asked.

"I wanted her to be human. I didn't want to ruin her life any more than I already had. Her life was in constant danger with me around. With all the nomad vampires that came after her and my own family attacking her…I knew I had to do something. I couldn't change her because I couldn't destroy her soul. I would never have forgiven myself for doing that to her." I explained. I was going to continue until Jason interrupted me.

"What do you mean destroy her soul?" he questioned confused.

"Anne never told you about how I felt about my soul?" I asked. I thought she would have if she was trying to explain my reasons for leaving. That was one of the main reasons I was leaving. Jason shook his head no. "I feel that we don't have souls. That we are meant to burn rather than go to heaven." I answered. He looked at me astonished.

"You honestly think that?" he asked appalled by the very idea. I nodded. "Are you insane? Look man, I know I'm not the smartest guy in the world and maybe I'm not nearly as old as you but even I know that's not true. We all have souls and we have the same chances humans do. We just need to make the right choices." he replied.

"But I have made all the wrong ones. I shouldn't exist, Jason. I should have died back in 1918. I'm a monster."

"Now I see what Anne was talking about in the field while she was catching me up, mentioning how annoying this conversation is. I may not like you and you may have hurt my sister but even I have to admit that you're not a monster. You are trying to fight against the vampire instinct to hurt a human. Before you left Bella, you were there helping her, protecting her when I couldn't be there. You were cheering her up when she was sad. You made her happy, Edward. So maybe you were supposed to have died in 1918 but that doesn't matter. What matters is that you are here. I should have died over a decade ago. You don't see me getting all mopey. So stop being so moody and get over it!" he demanded. I stood there shocked. No one has ever responded like that. This was a surprise, that's for sure.

"No one's ever said that to me." I responded quietly and still awestruck. He shrugged.

"Yeah that's probably because people are politer than I am when it comes to things like that. You see, I'm kind of impulsive. I just do or say what I want. I don't hold things in. I'm cool like that." he said proudly. I chuckled and he did the same. There was a small silence in the air before Jason spoke. "So you really do love Bella?" he asked softly. I nodded.

"Yes. I would do anything for her. If you thought the same thing I did, wouldn't you do the same for Anne?" I replied. He nodded.

"Yeah. I love Anne with all my heart." he answered. "But there's one thing I don't understand. If you love her so much, if it was so hard to leave her, why didn't you come back?" he asked. I bowed my head at the painful memory.

"I did. I went over to Charlie's to see her, only to find out she had died a few weeks after we'd left. It was the worst type of agony you could ever imagine. I felt my whole world crash down. I wanted nothing more than to just die then and there. If it hadn't been for Alice I would have." I said.

"Are you serious?" he asked incredulously. I nodded, my eyes still avoiding his face. "Do you have any idea what that would have done to Bella if she found out you were dead?! It was bad enough that you hurt her by leaving her but you would have caused her more pain by doing that! What the heck were you thinking?! Committing suicide was not the answer! I cannot believe you would do that! I know you thought she was dead but even if she was she wouldn't want you to go and kill yourself! How would you feel if she were in your position?! Would you want her to kill herself?!" he yelled, making both of us flinch at his last sentence. Bella said the same thing when we'd been at Charlie's watching _Romeo and Juliet_. I waited for him to calm down before commenting.

"You and Bella really are alike. She'd said the same thing to me when we first had this discussion." I commented.

"Yeah well, Bellsy and I have always been similar in some ways. Anne says that we are both kind and concerned about others. John says we're both stubborn and have quick tempers." I chuckled both at the truth of the statement and Jason's glare he had when he mentioned it.

"You and John really don't get along do you?"

"Nope. Not at all. We both don't like each other. He can be such a pain in the butt sometimes. But I do respect him for being protective of Anne. He's just as protective of her as I am of Bella." he admitted. "Which brings me back to what else I brought you out here for. I for some reason believe you when you say you love her. But that doesn't mean I trust you quite yet, just that I'm not going to try and separate you two. But one false move, you hurt her or leave her ever again and I will rip you apart and burn the pieces. Bella has been through enough over this last few years and she doesn't need you hurting her again. I won't let it happen." threatened Jason. I nodded.

"I understand." Jason smiles.

"This was easier than I thought it would be. We'd better head back. Race ya?" said Jason, grinning. I nodded. We ran back into the field. The next thing I know, I am pushed to the ground and feeling someone with great strength punching me repeatedly in my face.

_Bella POV:_

I walked toward the field, knowing there'd be questions to answer. I was unsure of what to do. How do you tell your old vampire boyfriend you and him have kids? How do you tell him that his own kids hate him? This was not going to be an easy conversation to have with him. I just don't know how to go about this. It's not something you can just come right out and say. The only plan I've been able to come up with is have this conversation away from the rest of the Cullens. No one else could know until after I told Edward. It wasn't right for someone else to know before him. I couldn't help my family knowing though. They were the only ones that knew the truth for now. I was extremely nervous about telling Edward. What would he say? Would he leave again? That possibility frightened me. One thing made me feel better. Alice had no clue. The triplets, just like the wolves, are hard for psychic vampires to see. Anne could barely see them. She couldn't at first until she had grown accustomed to it up to a point where she learned to somewhat see them. Anne can see blurs but she can see enough that she can understand the vision.

I was lucky to have my family with me all this time. It had been hard to find out that I got pregnant by Edward after he left me. I had no idea what to do. Jake had been the one to comfort me during that difficult time prior to Anne's, Jason's, and John's arrivals. It was lucky Sam knew someone who knew John. As it turns out, John was sort of friends with a werewolf Sam had run into before. Sam called the other werewolf and the other werewolf contacted John. It was lucky that it turned out to be John. John was the one who had brought my brother and Anne to see me. John didn't know Jason was my brother but called him and Anne to talk. They came and Jason ran straight to me. I told him everything and that was when his resentment toward Edward started. Afterwards, Jason didn't leave my side unless he had to and Anne did all the things I needed. John had done the same. I couldn't have been any luckier than I had been then.

As I came closer to the field I heard someone getting punched and some people yelling. At first I thought it was just Jason and John fighting. They did this all the time so they were the first people to come to mind. It wasn't until I heard the Cullens yelling that I discarded that theory. My feet ran faster until I reached the field. Then I saw it, Edward on the ground and someone punching him. Hey I know that jacket from somewhere. I know that hair color. I looked next to the attacker and knew instantly who it was. Oh no! This cannot be good!


	9. Ch8: Punches, Seth, Sons

**AN: Hey all! Sorry for the really late update but I was really busy lately. I finally was able to finish this chapter. So sorry. I hope you all like it. Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT! I own only my characters. **

**Chapter Eight**

_Mystery POV:_

_Oh how I love her, _I thought to myself. I had just reunited with my girl. She and I have been together for years now and I loved her the moment I saw her. It was like love at first sight. We walked together, her beautiful brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes. I had been so relieved to see her. She's perfect. She's sweet, kind, intelligent, and everything I ever wanted in a girl and I knew she was the one that I would spend my eternity with. There was no one in the world like her. _I love __you,_ I heard her think as we walked into the forest more and more, heading toward the baseball field. I smiled back in response. _I love you too,_ I thought to her a few seconds later. She smiled. I picked her up and placed her on my back, running into the clearing. We always did this. We both moved faster this way and besides that, it was more of an excuse to be so close to one another.

When I got there I saw a sight I never wished to see. I saw six figures that I have never met but know from stories. These figures…I never wanted to meet them. That was the last thing I wanted. I never wanted to ever see them. I hated them, every single one of them. The more faces I saw, the more anger I felt in my body. A feeling up rage started as I saw one person walk into the forest, the one person I knew that if I ever saw I would rip him apart, Edward Cullen. I hate him! I hate him so much! What the heck is he doing here! He CANNOT BE HERE! He left her! He is not about to just waltz back into her life after ten years thinking he can be with her again and he's insane if he thinks I'm going to just accept him so easily. He doesn't deserve her! He left! He LEFT! My anger kept building as resentment flooded more and more into me. Unable to control myself, I ran so fast that I felt like I flew over to him and started to punch him in his face repeatedly. I could hear people yelling at me. There was pressure on me from Jason and John trying to pull me off of him. I could hear Anne trying to calm down the rest of the Cullens. My love even tried to calm me down but I did not want to hear her. Right now my focus was hurting him. The next thing I heard stopped me mid-punch.

"Edward Jacob Swan, that is enough!"

_Emma POV:_

I never knew a day could feel so long. It was like an eternity. Time was dragging by sluggishly. All I want is this day to be over. I don't want to have any more _family_ reunions, though I wouldn't classify the Cullens as family. This was all just too much for one day. I didn't mean to upset my mom but I was just telling her the truth. I was not about to let her get disillusioned about a guy who doesn't deserve her. She deserves better, better than him, better than a man who would leave her and break her heart over and over again. But even in my anger I have this hidden feeling, a feeling I knew all too well, a feeling that made me both uncomfortable and frustrated.

I was sitting down on this rock in the middle of the forest, alone. Frankly, alone didn't bother me. I needed the space from my family. My mixed feelings were not easy to deal with in the presence of my so-called father. What was I supposed to do? I know I can't sit here forever, well I could but I'd get bored after a while. I do know that it would upset my mom and last thing I want is for her to be upset. Plus, my brother would not be taking it well in any way. I heard a twig snap from behind me. I turned around and saw a familiar face, Seth Clearwater.

"Hey, Em." greeted Seth, cheerfully. He walked over toward me and sat down next to me. "How ya doin', babe?" he asked, grinning. I smiled a small smile. He'd always called me 'babe'. He had since day one and it had always made me laugh and smile.

Seth and I were close. We were close for the longest I can remember and I can remember a lot. When me and my siblings were growing up rapidly, one thing always remained the same no matter how fast we grew or how far we moved away: our relationship with the werewolves in La Push. Jacob had been the first connection. Mom had known Jacob from her human life. He'd been there for her since Cullen left. Mom had always said that she doesn't know what would have happened had Jake not been there. Then after Jake came the rest of the pack, including Seth. Seth was the first behind him. He was very accepting of the vampires. Mom had known about Jake imprinting on Nessie so he naturally was the one Mom left her to. Jake ended up taking us all up to La Push every once in a while to see the rest of the pack. It was during those times that I had met Seth. We talked and teased. We loved to pick on one another. Neither one of us took it personally and I could always talk to him when I was upset. He was my best friend. The longer we talked the closer we got. Seth was also very protective and so very kind. I couldn't think of spending my time with anyone better.

Seth being here was a comfort to say the least. He was always able to get my mind off things that I didn't want to think about. It felt like he was the only thing right now that was making any sense. He surely was a unique character. I stared at him and jabbed my elbow into his stomach. Of course since he was a werewolf, it didn't hurt him.

"I'm doing ok, sexy. Thanks for asking."

"Oh so you think I'm sexy?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yeah! You're the sexiest man in the universe." He grinned. His eyes shining as they always have.

"I know right?" he responded. I shook my head before looking away. He chuckled before looking at me, concerned. "Are you okay?" he asked. I hesitated before shaking my head. "What's wrong?" he asked with his eyes full of questions.

"It's um, it's about my um, it's…" I stumbled with my words; unable to choose words seeing as I cannot call HIM 'my dad'.

"It's Edward Cullen?" he responded. I nodded. So he did know.

"How'd you know?" I asked in response. He smiled.

"I could tell by the look in your eyes and your inability to say who exactly it was. I knew it was always difficult for you to call him your father. I also kind of heard from Jake that he was here and I knew you wouldn't take it well. That's when I decided to come looking for you. I knew you'd be around here. I thought you'd need someone to talk to." he answered.

"You know me all too well, honey." I replied with a teasing edge. He chuckled again. I sighed, getting back on track. "It's just…I'm confused. I know that I hate him and I know I don't want anything to do with him but…there's this part of me that—"

"That does? A part of you wants him to be your father. A part of you wants a father. A part of you has some positive feelings toward him." he replied, knowing the answer. I nodded. "Well, sweetheart, you've got yourself quite the mess of emotions."

"Tell me about it." I responded. "I just don't know what to do. I can't be near him right now. I'm too infuriated to be near him. I just don't know what to do."

"Well you could come with me and go to the baseball field as planned and just ignore him." he suggested. It sounded like a great plan but that was the problem…I couldn't ignore him.

"And if I can't ignore him?" I asked.

"I give you free reign to punch him wherever you'd like." he said smiling his big grin. Seth's smile was never fading and that always made me happy to have him in my life. His smile was a sign of good in the day. He also always knew how to make me feel better. The image of me punching Cullen played through my mind. It was a kind of attractive sight but there goes my emotions, getting in the way. Why was it me that had to be sympathetic? Why did I have to be the empath? I stared at Seth and smiled.

"I just might take you up on that offer." I said, smirking at the idea.

"Let's try not to though otherwise your mother will kill me." replied Seth. I laughed. She would be mad. I shrugged like I didn't care. Personally I did. I mean who would I pick on if Seth were gone? He widened his eyes in mock shock. He put his hand over his heart, faking pain I had caused him with my comment. "You want me to die, babe? I thought you loved me." he whined in faux astonishment. I shrugged again.

"Eh. There's always more from where you came from, sweetie. You know like Embry? He's pretty cute." I said in a teasing voice. He feigned hurt once again. Then there was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Oh really?" he asked with a smirk. I nodded, looking at him suspiciously. Next thing I know I'm being picked up. He walks over to a lake that is nearby. I look down and then back at him.

"You wouldn't." I said. His smirk widened. He laughed.

"Oh I would." He replied before dropping me into the water. I screamed. It was cold. I hated getting put into water with my clothes on. I got above the surface of the water and glared at Seth, who was on the floor laughing.

"DANG IT, SETH! These are my new clothes!" I yelled, actually upset. He laughed.

"Aw, honey, lighten up. We can replace them. By the way, I love the wet look on you. It's very you." he chuckled. I glared and walked closer to the shore, grabbed his hand and pulled him under. He went under and came right back up and glared. I laughed.

"Aw, honey, lighten up. I love the look on you. You look like a wet dog." He glared.

"Oh yeah?" he challenged. I nodded.

"Yeah." He and I then started pushing each other under the water, playing around. We played in the water for almost a half an hour before getting out, laughing at each other's looks. "You look ridiculous." I laughed.

"Yeah well so do you." he replied. I chuckled again.

"Great comeback." I commented. He glared.

"Shut up." he spat. I laughed once again. He rolled his eyes. "So you think I should try and bear being around him for a little while?" I asked after a moment, still soaking wet. He nods.

"Yeah, I do. Em, you're one of the strongest people I know. I have faith in you. You can handle this." he responded. I smiled and came closer to him. I put my head on his shoulder. His warm arms wrapped around me. He was warm. I was too but that was beside the point. I looked up at him while his arms were still around me.

"Thank you, Seth. I don't know what I would do without you." I stated. He sighed.

"Go through your eternity, lost, lonely, depressed. Babe, you wouldn't survive without me. You need me." he teased. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yeah, hun. I need you as much as I need actual human food to survive." I said with sarcasm in my voice. He grinned his wolfy grin once again.

"You love me and you know it." he replied still grinning. I sighed and chuckled. He's so persistent. Being the stubborn, half vampire I am, I looked at him challengingly.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Don't you love me?." I responded.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." repeated Seth. We stared before bursting into laughter. We had this same conversation every time we got together. We never deviated from the normal routine. Sometimes it didn't manage to get that far because my mother sometimes stopped it.

I love doing this with Seth. He's more fun than the other wolves, including Jake. Jake's cool but Seth's better. He's always entertaining and overall just nicer to be around. He has better control over his anger. Like I said Jake's cool but I don't see what Ness sees in the wolf. I mean really, the guy has some problems sometimes with his anger, although I shouldn't be talking. E.J and I were the same way but still. I don't know what Taylor sees in E.J either. It's a mystery to me what anybody in my family sees in each other. I don't even get what Aunt Anne sees in Uncle Jase. He's sweet but he's such a smart-aleck and a pain the butt. Also, it's like he lives to torture me and E.J. Honestly, him and E.J constantly prank one another up to a point where someone has to start running, though I doubt now E.J will be calm enough to be his normal, dorky, self. E.J was going to be furious, that much I knew. I knew that better than anyone.

Since the day I was born, there was something special about me. Not only was I a unique creature in enough itself, I had gifts like other vampires. The only difference was that my powers evolved a bit as I got older. I have a wider range of what I can do. E.J and Nessie are the same way. I have the ability to read people's emotions. I feel and change them, regardless of what type of person they are: humans, vampires, werewolves, you name it. When I was a child, I was excited to know that my father's brother, Jasper, had the same power. I knew better now of course that the Cullens were not family but that's beside the point. Mom said that I had unbelievable control over that power for such a young girl. My gift…I can feel and influence emotions at a greater distance than any pure vampire can. And like my siblings, I have another gift. I have the gift of a physical shield. To make up for some of our human traits, we are given an extra gift. My shield can project far. Now it is not nearly as far as Mom's mental shield but goes about as far as E.J's mental shield does. I can block physical attacks. The longer I practiced with it, the stronger it became and the wider the range I had. The physical shield was mostly for protection purposes. When playing baseball though, everyone uses their special ability and to even out the playing field, I was given the chance to use my gift. It makes the game so much more interesting. My powers of influencing emotions were not very helpful. It was only helpful in the way they could help me make them feel distracted. But that was not nearly as much fun as using the shield was. The powers I had helped me understand what someone was feeling. It was why I knew E.J would be angry.

I knew I was right. It was why I realized I had to go back to the field. E.J would upset Mom further and I didn't need to add to all the problems in regards to Edward Cullen. I made my decision. I would ignore him. I would pretend he never existed just as he had to us all ten years ago. He would know what it feels like to feel ignored. He may be able to get Mom to forgive him quickly but he's going to have to work a lot harder than just telling me he's sorry. If he really wants to be my father, he'll try acting like one and not the selfish idiot he is. He deserves worse than that. I wish I could run and punch him in the gut for hurting my mom but I was raised better than that. Seth noticed my look of reluctance and determination. His hand extended toward me.

"If you want to go, I will be there with you every step of the way. You can do this, Emma." he said in assurance. I stared at his hand for a minute, trying to figure out whether or not I should really go. Then, in a split second, I made my decision. I placed my hand in his and together we made our way to the field, where my _father_ is. _Oh boy! This was going to fun,_ I thought to myself sarcastically.

_Bella POV:_

I looked at the scene, shocked and worried. How did he find out? If Jacob told him, I'll kill him. Jacob wasn't supposed to say anything. My son was punching his father at this very moment. I knew E.J would react badly but I never thought I would see this. I expected Jason would have been the one to take the first swing, not our son. I didn't know Jase had the strength to ignore the call of pummeling Edward. At the side, I saw my family yelling at E.J and Edward's family doing the same behind me. Rosalie and Emmett looked like they wanted to intervene but Anne warned them to stay back. Taylor was beside the fight looking worried. She was not worried about Edward but E.J. I knew that. I saw Taylor trying to get his attention but his eyes were still on Edward's. It was then that I started getting fed up with this.

"Edward Jacob Swan, that is enough!" I yelled loudly.

E.J froze and turned his head toward me. I noticed the fire in his eyes, the fist he had been about to throw again into Edward's face. When he looked at me, his eyes softened. He looked to his left and saw our family and behind me to see Edward's. Then his eyes drifted to his right and what he saw brought him out of his fury, Taylor. I saw him gaze back at his father, then to me, and lastly to Taylor, who had been pleading with her eyes for him to stop, before getting off of Edward. His hair blew out of his face to reveal the face of his father. The Cullens behind me gasped. Edward however did not see it. My eyes never left E.J. He looked at me, not with anger but with apologetic eyes. Then he took off away from the field. _I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry_, I heard him think to me before he went silent. I took a look at Taylor to see an apology in her eyes as well.

"I am so sorry, Bella. I should have been able to stop him. I should have tried harder to stop him. I could have prevented all this." said Taylor, in a repentant tone. I shook my head.

"It's fine, Taylor. It's not your fault. I should have let E.J know what was going on. I just didn't think you would show up so soon." I responded dismissively.

"Yeah but still—" she started.

"Don't worry about it, Taylor. I don't blame you. It' s okay." I said reassuringly. She looked like she wanted to continue fighting but decided against it and nodded. Her eyes moved to the direction E.J had gone. My eyes did the same. I wanted to go after him but I decided against it, thinking it was probably not the greatest idea. I tried to do that with Emma and well, that didn't go over to well.

"I'll go after him, Bella." volunteered Taylor, seeing the fact that I was having a hard time letting him go. I smiled and nodded. She started walking.

"You are good for him, you know?" I called out to her. She turned around and looked at me, taken aback.

I never said anything to her in regards to her relationship with my son, so this was a first. I never disapproved, in fact I approved greatly but I never said anything. I knew there was nothing to worry about. Taylor was a great girl. She was kind, gentle, smart, and immensely pretty. She had great parents who love her dearly. She was truly perfect for E.J. Since the day they met, E.J was intoxicated by her. Taylor appealed to him in a way no one else ever had. No one ever quite understood him the way she did. He couldn't stay away from her. They were completely inseparable. That very day, he came in looking different, less moody and curious. Taylor was different and not just because she was half vampire like he was. She was different in a way that made her attractive to him. This did not stop Emma or Nessie from becoming friends with her. They loved the fact that Taylor was similar to them and that she was able to stop him in his tracks. She could fight with him up to a point where E.J couldn't argue anymore. He ran out of arguments whereas she kept coming up with more. She also had this ability to calm him down. No one else could, not even me or his sisters. Taylor didn't need powers to do that. Just by being there, she brightened his day. She made him that goofy, sweet, happy boy he used to be before his sister started dating Jacob. He acted differently when he found out Jake had imprinted on Nessie. Don't ask me why because I have no clue but he was.

"You really think so?" she asked, smiling. I nodded.

"You make him happy, happier than I have ever seen him. He loves you. You are everything to him, you know?" I replied. She nodded. Of course she knew. E.J never missed an opportunity to tell her so.

"I know. I love him too, so very much. He's my life. My life wouldn't be the same without him. He's a stubborn kid but I'm ok with that." she said, still smiling. Her eyes glowing with love. I chuckled. It is very true. He is one of the most stubborn people I know. She looked over to the direction he left. "I'd better go after him. I'll always take care of him. I promise."

"I know you will. Go." I said. She gave me one last smile before heading into the direction E.J went.

After Taylor left, I looked at my family and saw them smiling. My eyes moved over to Edward. He looked at me with a bewildered expression. I turned and saw the same expressions on the Cullens' faces. I had expected this. None of them had a clue about Nessie, E.J, or Emma even existing so they were not going to understand it when people they don't even know start retaliating over something that happened a long time ago to someone else. They don't understand what connections the four of us share. But judging by the looks on some of their faces, they are beginning to understand.

"Bella, who was that?" asked Alice in her high voice.

"That was Taylor. She's the daughter of one of my good friends. She's a sweet girl." I answered, hoping she would accept that explanation. I knew it was a useless hope.

"That's not who I'm talking about, Bella. Who was that boy, the one that was hurting Edward?" she asked. I was silent, not muttering a word. Truth is I knew exactly who she was talking about. But I didn't want to answer that question right now.

I didn't want to tell the rest of the Cullens without telling Edward first, alone. Edward needed to be the first to know. I looked at Edward and saw hurt in his eyes. It was then I realized he never saw E.J's face. If he had, he would have realized whose son E.J was. Unable to keep eye contact with him looking like that, I shared looks with my family. John shrugged, not giving his opinion on what to do. Anne nodded approvingly, telling me to talk to him. Jason was the one whose opinion counted to me. I love John and Anne. I do but their opinions don't mean nearly as much as Jason's does. Jase's opinion is important to me, more than some. I wanted my brother's approval in this. He looked a little reluctant but finally gave me a nod of encouragement. I sighed and turned my eyes back on Edward.

"Edward, can we talk…alone?" I asked. He nodded. I sent a gaze again to Jason and he gave me a small smile.

"Aren't you going to answer Alice's question?" asked Rosalie. I turned my eyes on her, on all the Cullens. I hesitated before answering, hoping I wouldn't have to mention anything.

"I would like to but I can't. Look, I need to talk to Edward about this first. I'll talk to you guys about it later. Edward needs to hear it first. I want to explain it to him first. I promise that we will come back and when we come back I will give you an explanation as to who he was but right now I need to talk to Edward. Stay here and we'll be back." I answered. The other Cullens nodded, looking curiously. I turned around toward Edward and saw him looking just as curious if not a bit confused by what I had just said. I knew he didn't understand why precisely I had to tell him first but didn't argue. Edward held out his hand to me. I gave him a quick smile before grabbing his hand.

With that the two of us walked further into the woods and into another clearing. The two of us were silent the entire time we walked. No one could find words to say. But I didn't mind the silence. It gave me the time to think about what to say to him, how to tell him that he and I have kids, that the boy who was hurting him was in fact his son. I don't know exactly how he will react to the news but I know that I have to tell him. There was no choice in the matter. He had the right to know. We finally stopped and stared at each other. Both of us were trying to figure out what to say. I had no clue how to start off our anticipated, long conversation.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Bella?" he asked. I did not say a word yet. How do I tell him the truth? That question was repeating itself inside my head. I looked at him trying to pick out my words cautiously.

"I don't know how to tell you." I responded, nervously. His eyes gazed into mine. I missed his topaz eyes. Even as vampire, he could still dazzle me.

"Just tell me." he replied. I sighed, knowing I had to get this over with soon. I kept telling myself he needs to know but it doesn't make it easier for me to confess. "Bella, who was that boy?" he questioned. I took an unnecessary breath.

"That boy…his name is Edward Jacob Swan. He was born October 10th, 2006. He's your son, Edward." I said, finally managing to get the words out. Now it was out there and I can't ever take it back.

**AN: Ok so I'm going to do something. I have been debating about who to set Emma up with so I am setting up a little poll on who it should be. Now there will be one on my profile that you vote on or you could add you opinion in the review. Please tell me your opinion. The options are: Seth, a different werewolf, vampire, human, half-human half vampire. **


	10. Ch9: Telling the father, Suckers

**AN: Hey All! Sorry it took me so long to update. Have been uninspired the entire time. I've been trying to figure out how to word the entire thing. Anyway, this is what I've got. Hope you all enjoy it! Thank you for all the reviews. Poll will still be open til the next chapter. I'll tell you then who the winner is in the story. It'll be obvious. Anyway read and review! Love reading what you all think. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: FYI: I do not own Twilight or the characters but I do own my own characters.**

**Chapter Nine**

_Bella POV:_

I watched anxiously for a reaction from Edward. I was scared. Questions rang in my head. What would he say? What would he do? Would he believe me? His face was blank for a minute, like he was digesting the information. It was dead silent between us, only the wind made any sound. It was tense between us. After a minute, Edward looked at me in disbelief and shook his head.

"Bella, that's not possible. Vampires can't have kids, you know that." he said, disregarding my claim.

"Vampire women can't but vampire men can. It's different. I promise you, you are that boy's father." I replied. He shook his head more. It was starting to irritate me, though I knew this was to be expected. After all, he just found out he's had a son in the past ten years.

"Bella, it's just not possible. And how is it different? How would it be even remotely possible that I could have a son? And what makes you so sure he's my son?"

"Well, I kind of have a theory as to the how." I stated, watching his reaction. He motioned for me to continue, letting me know he was willing to listen. "Well, I was talking to John one day after E.J was born. I asked him if he knew how it could be possible because for all we knew a vampire could never have a child. He had no clue. So the two of us set out to research the idea and found nothing, which was to only be expected. But together we came up with the idea that since men don't need to change in any way to have a child, it's possible for a vampire man to get a woman pregnant, just not a vampire woman. Women's bodies have to change to have a baby so since vampires' bodies can't change, it's not possible for them to have babies." I explained. He looked at me and nodded.

"That makes some sense. You still haven't answered my other question though. What makes you so sure he's my son?" he responded.

"Well for one, he looks exactly like you. He has your hair color, facial features, and your eyes, everything. The only thing he ever got from me was some of his attitude, though a lot of that came from you as well. But besides that, it isn't possible for him to be anyone else's son because you are the only person I have ever done anything with." I told him.

"But Bella you told me he was born in 2006. That was ten years ago and when I saw him he couldn't have been any younger than sixteen years old."

"That was another thing. Since he is half vampire, he grew faster than a normal baby. I was only pregnant for a month, Edward." I replied. I could see some of the disbelief in his eyes. "Look, Edward, I know it's hard for you to believe but it's true. I wouldn't lie to you about this, not about him. He's my son, our son. I could never lie about him. For nearly ten years now, he's been my everything. This is not something I could lie about. I didn't even think I would ever have the chance to ever even tell you about him. But I knew had to tell you when I first saw you there in my home. You had the right to know. He is your son, whether you or he likes it or not. I know it's hard to believe and you may not like it but—" I said before he put his finger on my lips, sending me his signature smile.

"It's not that I don't like it, Bella. In fact, I desperately want it to be true. It's just hard to believe but I can't deny it when you have a logical explanation for everything." he replied, conflicted. I knew that if only he saw him would he fully see the resemblance. That's when I remembered something. I reached into my pocket and found what I was looking for, a picture of my son and Taylor. I looked at it smiling and handed it to Edward. I watched Edward's eyes go from shocked to proud?

"Now do you see the resemblance?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. He looks just like I had when I was human." I nodded. I could no longer see doubt in Edward's eyes. There was no way you could deny the relationship between the two of them after seeing the resemblance. They were too similar. I watched Edward's eyes turn to sadness as he kept looking at the picture. He looked up to me and gave me the picture back. "Why does he hate me?" he asked.

"E.J's very…protective of his family. He doesn't like anyone getting hurt. When he was young, he used to ask me about you. I would tell him all I could. He would ask me about why you weren't here or if you hated him. When I thought he was ready to hear what happened, when I thought he was mature enough for it, I told him what happened and since then his anger at you grew. He was mad at you for hurting me. He didn't like it when anyone hurt me, purposefully or not. He doesn't like it from anyone, not even family. He's like everyone else when it came to what happened ten years ago, only he has more anger than even Jase does. For Jase, it was just you hurting me but I think for E.J it was more that." I tried to explain. "Honestly, if you wanted a clearer explanation you are better off talking to E.J. I just don't suggest it right now." Edward nodded and looked down, a little disappointed. I put my hand under his chin and brought his head up. He looked into my eyes and I smiled. "He'll come around, Edward. I know him. He's just being stubborn. In time, he'll forgive you. They all will." I promised. He looked at me confused.

"They?" he asked. I looked at him confused. What did I say? "You said 'they all will'. Who's 'they'?" I backtracked and remembered and tried to think of the best way to tell him. After all, how do you explain to your lost love that he had not just one but three kids? One kid is hard to accept after so long let alone three. I sighed.

"Ten years ago, I gave birth to more than just E.J." I stated, analyzing his reaction. He looked shocked for a brief moment before looking like he had accepted it, still seeming shocked. "We have two little girls, well not exactly little but you get the point." He nodded. His eyes seemed to be thinking, almost remembering.

"That girl, the one you ran after, she's one of them, isn't she?" I nodded. Edward looked disappointed once again. "She hates me too, huh?"

"Kind of. She's not nearly as mad at you as E.J. But yeah she does. I think though between your son and her, she'll be the easier one to get to be forgiven by. Like him, she's stubborn. All our kids are stubborn, Edward."

"I wonder who they get that from." teased Edward, staring at me and smirking. I glared.

"Funny, Edward. Very funny." I replied.

"I thought so." he responded, chuckling. I smiled at him. He was very accepting of all this, a lot more accepting than I thought he'd be.

"You know you are a lot more accepting of this, a lot more than I thought you would be." I said, voicing my thoughts.

"Well of course I'm going to accept this. After all they are my kids, our kids. Besides, Bella, I love you. Nothing's going to take me away from you again. And I have always wanted to be able to have children with the one I love. The only difference is that I thought we would have been married and that I would have been there for them their entire lives." he said, looking down once again only guilty instead of disappointed.

"Edward, that's not your fault."

"Yes it is, Bella. If I had stayed with you, I would have known and would have been there every step of the way. I never would have let you go through this alone. I would have been there to hold our son and our daughters when they were born. You never would have gone through the pain you went through or have to raise the kids on their own. I wouldn't have missed anything. I would have—" I kissed him. He was at first surprised by this and then joined into the kissing before I pulled away a minute later.

"I don't want to hear anymore about you feeling guilty for leaving or what you would have done if you'd stayed. It's too late to change it. There's no going back so let's stop focusing on the past and focus on the future. You can make it up to me by being here with me, never leaving, and trying with our kids. You can get through to them, you just have to keep trying. They are just as stubborn as you are. Besides, I think there is one child you will not have to worry about." He looked at me confused. "Our daughter, Renesmee, she won't be mad. She already forgave you a long time ago. We had this conversation with Jake a few hours ago. I don't think she has a clue you are here but she heard us talking about you and what happened and jumped to your defense. She'll be on your side. Just don't make her regret giving you her trust." I replied. _Or making me regret giving you mine__,_ I added silently in my head. He gazed into my eyes and replied like he knew what I was thinking.

"I won't. I won't ever make either of you regret it. I will never do anything like that ever again, I swear it." he promised. I put my hand on his now soft cheek and smiled.

"I know, I trust you." We kissed once again before pulling away. "I love you."

"I love you too, Bella." He said, holding me close to him. I could stay this way forever. "Bella?" he asked, looking down on me. I looked up at him, expectantly waiting for him to say what he wanted. "Where did you come up with the kids' names?" he asked.

"Um, well E.J is Edward Jacob so that one is kind of self-explanatory." He nodded. "Emmalie is a combination of Emmett and Rosalie. E-M-M-A-L-I-E. Then her middle name, which she hates, is Jary. J-A-R-Y. For a while I was trying to throw things to get Jasper and Alice together but nothing seemed to work so John volunteered to go researching on Alice to see if maybe she had a middle name I could use. He came back and told me that her first name was actually Mary, Mary Alice Brandon. I decided that could work so that became her middle name. Jason always teases her for it though which I feel bad for." He nodded and placed a kiss on my forehead. "Then Renesmee is a combination of her two grandmothers' names, Renee and Esme. R-E-N-E-S-M-E-E. Her middle name was then her two grandfathers' names put together, Carlie. C-A-R-L-I-E. Too weird?" I answered. Edward shook his head.

"Of course not. I think it's perfect and my family will be very happy to hear it. Speaking of my family, we should probably be heading back now." I sighed a heavy sigh. I didn't want to go just yet. I was happy here in Edward's arms, just him and me. But I had to go back, especially if anyone else decides to show up without me knowing it. I nodded and he picked me up and placed me on his back.

"You do know that now that I'm a vampire, I can run too, right?" I replied. He looked at me and grinned his crooked grin.

"I know but I'm not letting go of you. Besides, who knows? Somehow, you may still be clumsy." he teased. I hit him and he chuckled.

The scary thing was he was right, even though he didn't know it. I was still a little clumsy. Somehow, the venom had little effect on my balance. I was not much more balanced. I still fell on occasion. I was stronger but still clumsy. Jason always got a kick out of that. He purposefully tried to trip me on occasion. My balance had somewhat changed. I was a little more balanced but I still tripped over my own two feet every once in a while. It was in those moments I still felt like I was human.

I put my head on his shoulder while we ran, really enjoying the moment. Everything between me and Edward was going perfectly. The only thing that needed fixing now was the relationship between our son, E.J, and our daughter, Emma, had with him. I truly did feel that Nessie would take it extremely well. There was no doubt about that. The only scary thing would be Edward finding out Jake imprinted on her. I nearly killed Jake when I found out. I can't even imagine his reaction. I was not going to tell him, at least not yet. I'm a coward, sue me. While on Edward's back, I found myself wondering where my son was and if Taylor had finally talked to him. I can only hope she can talk some sense into him.

_Taylor POV:_

I ran through the woods, looking for the man I love. I knew this was a hard thing for him but did he really have to go running somewhere where it would be hard for me to find him. I'm not a tracker! It's not easy for me. He ran too fast for me to catch up. I had to find him. I knew he needed someone to talk to. I knew E.J better than anyone. I may have not known him as long as Emma or Nessie but he told me things he would never tell them. I knew how he acted, sometimes I knew what he was thinking. He knew the same things about me.

Before we had joined his family, it was just me and my parents. My parents had no idea about vampires until they became vampires themselves. See a red-haired vampire had been going around my parents' hometown of Forks, Washington. She'd been looking for something, someone, E.J's mom Bella Swan. She found out Bella was gone so she found my father out in the woods one night and was really thirsty so she attacked my dad when one of the wolves around attacked her before my dad could be killed. My dad went further into the woods and found the Cullens' house as my father had called it and went in there, knowing no one would be there. Later he met up with my mom and they shared one night together in which I was conceived. They had me later on and my dad turned my mom because he loved her and was not going to let her die. Then we did what any vegetarian vampire did, moved when it was time.

I met E.J three years ago. We were both seven years old, in human years, but looked sixteen. We had just moved there. E.J and his family had been there about a year. The day we met, E.J and his sisters had found out about Jacob imprinting on Nessie. E.J did not take it well because he didn't like anyone going out with his sister and also he didn't react to change very well either. So he ran from his house and where he stopped, he met me. I remember that day so clearly.

**I walked out the backdoor of the house my parents had bought. I was mad. I hated having to move around every few years. It got irritating. I had no one to relate to and even when I did, I had to move away from them. I could never tell anyone what I was. I was truly alone. I wondered if I would ever find someone like me. Was there such a thing? Vampires don't normally leave humans alive long enough to have kids with them. I look at my parents and can't help but think, will I ever feel about anyone the way my parents feel about each other. Life for me was even more unfair. Everyone in the human world complained, well I'm the one that can't get close to anyone because no one can ever find out about me and I'm so limited. There was no one like me or at least if there were, they were not around me. I would never feel love for another person. I envied my parents for that. I really did. They could have this fairy tale romance. Me? I'm alone in the world. I'm complaining a lot but it's true. **

**I walked into the woods looking for a good hunt. My parents doted on me and no matter how protective of me they were, they felt like I could handle myself out in the woods so I could hunt. They trusted me and gave me some freedom, which I was grateful for. If I had to be with them for the rest of my life I might have strangled one of them by now. As I walked I found a figure in the middle of a clearing, a boy with bronze colored hair. **

**He looked like he was brooding over something. He sat with his legs drawn into his chest and his arms around his legs. As I got closer I noticed he was not as lanky as he looked from a distance. He was actually fairly muscled and kind of pale. I could tell he was no vampire. The sun was out and he was not sparkling like a vampire would have. I heard a twig snap which made him speak in a velvety tone.**

"**Ness, can you just leave me alone? I don't want to talk right now." he said, picking his head up from his knees before putting it back down. I walked closer and stood next to his sitting form.**

"**I don't know who this 'Ness' is but I'm certainly not them." I responded. He turned to me frantic, shocked, and surprised. He was not expecting this but I was not expecting him. I was waiting for a response when I found myself milking the sight of him in. **

**Wow he was gorgeous. He had the perfect facial structure but that wasn't what attracted me. The thing that drew me in was his eyes. They were green like emeralds, like the green you saw in the Wizard of Oz, the part where they reach Emerald City. (Yes, I watched Wizard of Oz. I may not have been born when it came out but I loved that movie) His eyes were sparkling. They truly were mesmerizing. I found myself actually getting lost in his eyes. **

**I pulled myself out of it, telling myself he's just a human. I can't get attached. He wasn't supposed to know, though his scent was a little off so I found myself wondering if he really was just a human. I found him doing the same. Had he found me attractive? I hoped he did but pulled myself out of that thought again, realizing once again that he's human. That sucked. He was cute!**

"**I'm not human. I can tell you're not considering you're telling yourself I'm human and you can't be with a human, plus your scent's different. What are you?" I looked at him shocked. Could he hear what I was thinking? "Yes." I heard him say. Did he just-? He nodded. He could read minds. I remembered my thoughts. I felt my eyes widen and blushed. He chuckled. "Are you ever going to answer my question?" he asked. I backtracked, trying to remember his question.**

"**Oh um, I'm uh, uh, half human, half vampire." I responded, stumbling on my words. He looked at me curiously and shocked.**

"**Seriously?" I nodded. "Wow. I thought me and my sisters were the only ones like us. Guess I was wrong." he replied. It was then my turn to feel shocked.**

"**You're half human, half vampire, too?" He nodded. **

"**Yep. Born and raised." he said, smiling a crooked smile. I smiled back and felt myself falling for his smile. Oh boy! I'm in trouble. CRAP! He can read my mind! Oh Man this really sucks! I heard him chuckle.**

"**Didn't you know it's rude to eavesdrop on someone's thoughts?" I asked, annoyed. He shrugged.**

"**It's not like I can control it or anything. I can just hear everything. You have no idea how annoying it gets sometimes." I nodded, accepting his lame excuse. He laughed. I was silent and stood looking at him. When he was done laughing, he patted the grass next to me, asking me to join him. I sat down next to him and looked at him as he did the same. "What are you doing here?" he asked softly. I sighed.**

"**Nothing. I was going to hunt. I was getting irritated in my house. I have no one to relate to. I'm an only child who lives with her vampire mom and dad. I have no one to talk to at home my age. I was just needing to get away plus my dad and mom are so in love that it makes me sick sometimes." I answered. He sighed and nodded.**

"**I know the feeling." he responded.**

"**Oh do you?"**

"**Yeah. My sister just found out that my mom's old werewolf friend that has been with us since before we were born, imprinted on her."**

"**Your mom?" I asked, a little confused.**

"**My sister! My baby sister! UGH! I hate him!" Ah. That made sense now. **

"**And you don't like that he's with her? Don't you want her to be happy?"**

"**Of course I do."**

"**Just relax, ok? If it's what she wants, leave it be. And from what I hear about werewolves, they can't exactly help it."**

"**I know." he replied sighing. "I just don't want her to date him, or anyone for that matter. Things were better when it was just the three of us. Nessie, me, and Emma."**

"**Are you sure it's the guy? Maybe you're just jealous."**

"**Jealous? Why would I be jealous?"**

"**Because he's going to get more attention from Nessie than you will and that they'll have someone to love for the rest of their lives or maybe it's because you don't like change."**

"**Well those make sense, especially the last one but no. I don't think that's true." **_**Denial!, **_**I thought to him. He glared at me. "I'm not in denial."**

"**Whatever you say, deary." I replied, teasing. He shook his head.**

"**I swear you and my sisters would get along really well." I chuckled. **

"**Could I meet them?" I asked hopefully, wanting to meet some others like me.**

"**Maybe some other time. Right now wouldn't be the best time." I nodded, accepting that. It wasn't a 'no' exactly. **

"**Look, I've got to go but I'm serious. Just relax and let your sister live her life. She'll love and appreciate you for it later. I promise." I said, smiling, getting up to leave. I was about to walk away when I heard him call out to me.**

"**Hey!" I turned around. "What is your name?" he asked. I smiled.**

"**Taylor."**

"**I'm E.J." I smiled.**

"**Well it was a pleasure meeting you, E.J." I said before taking off. On the run back only one thing was running through my mind. E.J. Somehow I knew I would be seeing more of him. I just hoped my instincts were correct.**

That day I came home and my parents were very confused and worried about me when I came home, sort of day dreaming. I couldn't help it. I didn't realize it yet but I was already starting to fall for him. He was perfect and I fell more and more as I got to know him. He was truly magnificent. I knew he would be the one I could relate to. He made me feel like I wasn't alone. I feel that way even now. Any time I need him he's there. Now he needed me and I was going to be there.

I finally reached a clearing. I looked around and realized it was the same clearing we had first met each other. He ran all the way here. I shouldn't be surprised because he would come here whenever he had troubles and needed to think. I saw him hunched over like he had been before and went behind him and wrapped my arms around his form. I felt him melt into my embrace. I put my lips next to his ear.

"Hi." I whispered and then kissed his ear. He unwrapped himself and pulled me into this arms.

"Hey." I looked up at him and saw him looking upset. It was silent.

"You really worried your mom, you know?" I said. He sighed and nodded.

"I know. I just couldn't be there. Not with him there. If you and mom weren't there I would have kept punching him."

"I figured. I knew you were really mad back there."

"Of course I was mad. The guy broke Mom's heart. I watched her for years, crying for him. Every dry tear she shed, made me want to kill him for it. Mom was in constant pain and now suddenly he can come right back like everything's fine. Cuz it's sure not fine to me!" He vented, getting up and pacing around. "Look, I know what you are going to say, Tay. Give him a chance. He may surprise you but I can't. Every time I look at him, I find a new reason to hate him! I want to rip him apart and burn the pieces. I would and I wouldn't feel one thing about it." I got up and stepped in front of him, stopping his pacing.

"That wasn't what I was going to say. And also, you may not feel something at first but eventually you would. I know you, E.J. I know you better than you know yourself. You would feel something later. Now, what I was going to say was get your butt back there and forget about him. Just ignore him. Emma is going to do that and yes, I talked to her. She found out before we did and is going back there now, for Bella. Can't you do the same?"

"No, I can't. I will just end up killing him. You saw me back there. I actually wanted to kill him. That's not going to change in one hour, babe."

"I know, honey, but you can try, right? Don't you want to protect your sisters from him? After all, you and I both know Nessie's going to accept him with open arms."

"Ooh that's harsh. Making me choose between protecting my sisters and avoiding my so-called father. I hate that."

"I know but can you please do this? For me?" I said seductively, moving closer to him. His eyes widen for a minute. He tried to back away but I kept moving closer until we were up against a tree. I started kissing him up and down the neck. "Please?" I kept saying against his skin, in between kisses.

"Alright! Alright! I give up! You're evil and very convincing!" I heard him say shakily. I grinned.

"I know." He comes farther to kiss my lips but I put a finger on his lips. "Not yet, sweetie. I will give you a kiss if you walk over to the field and stay in the field for at least five minutes and apologize for hitting him to him and your mother." I heard him groan.

"Tay, that's impossible though! Please! Anything but that!" I shook my head.

"Nope. I will not give you a real kiss until then. Deal?" I heard a moan before he nodded and grabbed my hand. I inwardly grinned. Emma was right he was a sucker for me. That's good to know. I could use this to my advantage.

_Jason POV:_

The Cullens minus Edward, Annie, John, and I sat down talking about random things. They weren't that bad. Emmett was pretty cool. He was funny and I could see us partnering up for pranks. Watch out world! Alice was very hyper and did actually remind me of Annie. It was kind of freaky. Jasper was pretty cool when he wasn't messing with my mood. Carlisle and Esme were awesome. They really did act like parents. It kind of made me miss my parents, even Charlie who I had problems with back when I was human. I kind of got into a fight with him last time I was there. But Esme made me miss my mom. Rosalie was beautiful but was kind of stuck up but she shared her story and I understood. If I ever found out something like that happened to my baby sister, I would kill whoever tried it. They would rue the day they were born! I also understood her wanting a kid. Boy, I was anxious for her to find out about my nieces and nephews. I wonder if she'll be mad at Bella for it. Cull—Edward was to blame for that, or at least that's how I see it.

We were all waiting for Edward and Bella to come back. They were taking their sweet time, that's for sure. It doesn't take that long to say 'oh by the way, you've got three kids. Yeah that boy who punched you…yeah he's your son.'. Alright so, Bella wouldn't say that but still. It doesn't take this long. I know that. The other Cullens tried to get us to tell them who they were. However, we were not saying anything. It's Bella's job, not ours. It was then we heard a noise coming from the other side we had figured Bella and Edward would come in. We looked in the direction and to my family's surprise Emmalie and Seth Clearwater walk in, hand-in-hand, not exactly unusual.

"Emma!" yelled Anne, excitedly getting up and running over to her and jumping on her, causing Emma to fall. Seth laughed at her.

"Not funny, Seth." said Emma, glaring at him. I saw Anne notice Seth.

"Seth! Hi!" yelled Anne, jumping on him. He fell, laughing.

"It's nice to see you too, Anne." chuckled Seth.

"Jary, you're here!" I yelled, wrapping my arms around my little niece. She shot me daggers when I said her middle name. I always called her Jary. It was fun. She always reacted and hated it. Well if Bellsy has a nickname she hates, her daughter's no different. Her son and other daughter were another story. I can't find nothing that bothers them. DANG! Oh well! I get to pick on my other niece.

Emma got out from my embrace and started to attack me. She pulled me down and I tried to pin her to the ground but the girl was fast and got up before I pin her down. I grabbed her arm wanting to force her to come over but she kicked me hard in the face. It actually hurt! Then she put me in a head-lock. I was very aware that everyone was watching us fight. Dang it! Why does she always have to win.

"Now what's my name?" she asked, still holding me in a head lock. I grinned. This didn't hurt.

"Jary." I replied. I felt her tighten her grip. It went on like that for awhile, her asking me her name and me replying with Jary.

"Aw, come on. Babe, let Jase go. He may not need to breathe but it is kind of uncomfortable." said Seth.

"Not until he says my real name. Now what's my name?" she asked once again, tightening it, making me very, very uncomfortable. I wasn't going to give in though. I'm gonna win.

"Emmalie Jary Swan, knock it off and let go of Jason now!" yelled Bella. I heard Emma scoff. She let go of me and I fell to the floor.

"I will win one day!" I declared.

"You can try." replied Emma. I heard Edward chuckle softly. I saw Emma stiffen a little at seeing him. Guess she still doesn't want to see him. Good to know. New way to annoy her! YES! I heard Edward chuckle again. He better not let her know my plans! I already have an annoying nephew for that.

"What's so funny?" asked Alice.

"Jason." Edward replied. I glared at him. _Don't you dare say anything or I'll sick my nephew on you_, I thought. He still chuckled and nodded. Good. If he knew what was good for him, he'd not say anything.

"Hey, Bella." called out Seth. Bella smiled and walked up to Seth and gave him a hug.

"Hi, Seth. It's good to see you." she said before whispering in his ear. "Thank you for bringing Emma back here."

"No problem." he whispered back. I was the only one close enough to hear it. Bella went up to Emma and hugged her.

"Thank you for coming back." she said.

"Yeah well, I'm not doing it for him but I'm doing it for you." Emma replied.

"That's fine. Thank you." Bella responded, hugging her daughter.

"So, Bella, I'm sorry to ruin the moment but um, who was that boy who was beating up Edward?" asked Alice. Bella turned to her and was about to respond when Emma chimed in.

"Wait! E.J tried to beat him up?" she said pointing at Edward. I could see the hidden smirk on her face. Bella glared at her. Emma backed off.

"E.J? What does that stand for?" asked Alice. Bella sighed again.

"Edward Jacob. He's the boy and he's…mine and Edward's son."


	11. Ch10: Parents,Baseball Prep, and Trouble

**AN: Hey guys! Worked as hard as I could! I was really worried about not being able to update this week but I managed to get this much done! Hope you all like it! Thanks to all of you for making it this far into my story and for all the past reviews you may have sent. Read and Review! Love to hear what you have to say.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight but Stephenie Meyer does so yeah...**

**Chapter Ten**

_Emmett POV:_

Wow, didn't see that one coming. Eddie has a kid? With Bella? But that requires having done something. But he's…hmm. I saw Eddie glaring at me. _Got some action, Eddie Boy? Why didn't you tell us? Too embarrassing, huh? Did you suck?_, I thought to him. His glare intensified. Ha ha that's awesome. I was going to have fun with this. He neglected to tell us that. Huh, this is an interesting development. And there's a kid…a kid with daddy issues. I wonder what in the world Eddie did to have a kid with that many issues…although he is Eddie's kid...Eddie himself has issues…he must have gotten it from Eddie. Maybe this kid will help me bug Eddie. Huh, interesting.

I looked around me and saw a variety of facial expressions. I looked at Edward who was still glaring at me for my past thoughts. He was holding a nervous looking Bella. I looked at Bella's family nest. Jason looked cautious, like he thought we were going to attack someone for telling us this news. That's ridiculous. I like the news. I saw John looking the same way but Anne was smiling, happy. Man, she looked like the pixie when she knows something others don't, which is a lot considering the pixie sees everything. I saw the girl…Emma? She was looking at us all with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face. What's up with that? I saw the werewolf who looked unmoved by this whole thing. I looked at my family. Esme and Carlisle were both shocked and surprisingly so was Alice and Jasper. Rosie was not only surprised but angry. I knew it wasn't at the kid or his parents, but the fact that the kid exists.

Rosie has always wanted a kid. Ever since she was human, she had wanted one. Now that she was a vampire it was physically impossible. She could not ever carry a child of her own and it irritated her to no end that Edward, a vampire, could have a kid when she couldn't have one. Honestly, a kid wouldn't have been bad. I would have actually enjoyed being a dad and playing with my little kid and showing him how to do cool stuff and teaching them pranks and sports and…it would have been fun but it was impossible for us. That's one thing that makes no sense. How could Edward have a kid when none of us could?

"That's impossible! How can you possibly have a son with Edward when I can't have a kid?" I heard Rose yell, angry. I looked at saw four glares now coming her way. They were all coming from Edward (of course), Jason (naturally), John (big shocker!), and Emma. "There is no way you can have a kid with him! He has to be someone else's kid! He cannot be a father! You're lying!"

I saw Bella take a step back, hit hard by the accusation. She was not expecting this but I could tell that this was what she had feared would happen. I heard three snarls from Edward, Jason and Jon. Emma came stalking over, ticked off. Seth walked behind her, looking ready to stop her from creating trouble…well more trouble. Emma was glaring at Rose and took a protective stance in front of Bella. She was shaking with fury and pointed a finger at Rose.

"Don't you dare yell at her! She's not a liar! You know nothing! If you had been there you would have seen it yourself! She's telling the truth whether he likes it or not! Now if you didn't have such a large stick up your butt you'd realize that E.J looked a heck of a lot like him! I know you saw him! How could he possibly be anyone else's kid? He's his child whether you like it or not so don't you dare accuse her of anything when you don't know the half of it!" screamed Emma. Seth put this arm around her waist, trying to keep her back. I grabbed Rose around her waist as she glared at Emma and started over to her, wanting to hit her.

"And who are you to be speaking about this? You have no right to yell at me! It's none of your business. This is between my family and her!"

"I happen to be E.J's sister, her child! And also, I wish she were lying because that would mean that Edward Cullen was not my father!" she yelled. Rose relaxed a bit, stunned by this new revelation. I don't blame her. Two kids? _Wow, Eddie you got busy_, I thought to him. He turned his glare on me but then turned it back on Rose. I looked at Emma and noticed some similarities between her and Eddie.

She had Bella's brown hair. There honestly wasn't much Bella in her. When I looked at her, all I saw was Edward. She had his nose, his smile, and the most evident trait, his eyes. Those were the eyes Carlisle had told us he had. Carlisle told us that he used to have dark green eyes. These were the very eyes I always thought he would have. She had the fiery temper of Bella. That was for sure. She had Edward's overprotective nature. I saw her cheekbones reflect some of Bella too. How had we not seen this when she first came here?

"How is that possible?" asked Esme, softly. Bella looked a little more relaxed. Emma moved her eyes over to Esme for a split second and immediately softened. Seth put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him before backing away, letting Bella and Edward be the only two directly in front of us.

"We aren't exactly sure. John and I have a theory that it was because I was human when we…you know. I gave birth to them when I was human. It was the reason why I was changed. I was dying after I gave birth to my last child. My body couldn't take it so John and Jason changed me. My kids needed me. I was only pregnant for a month. They grew so fast. It's why right now they look like they are sixteen. They haven't changed either in three years." Bella explained. Rose still looked suspicious. Bella looked at her. "Rosalie, I know you don't believe me but it's true. These kids can't be anyone else's. I have not done anything since Edward or before him either. Besides you can't deny that they look like Edward. It's only different because I was a human. You can't have a kid because your body can't change. I can't have another kid either. It's different now." Rose's eyes softened and nodded. It did make sense.

"You're right. I can't deny it. He did look exactly like Edward and she does too. I was just jealous because you two could have a kid, two kids when I couldn't." my wife explained. Bella nodded and smiled.

"I understand and it's not two…it's three."

"Three kids?" asked Alice.

"Yeah. I had two daughters and a son. Edward Jacob, Emmalie Jary, and then my other daughter is named Renesmee Carlie. Renesmee is a combination of Renee and Esme. Carlie is a combination of Charlie and Carlisle. Emmalie is a combination of Emmett and Rosalie. Jary is Jasper and Mary put together. John did some digging on Alice, to see if he could find out a middle name I could use since Alice wasn't working with Jasper and he found out she was named Mary Alice Brandon so I used that. I hope that's ok." responded Bella. Alice, Esme, and Rose all walked up to her and hugged her.

"Of course it's ok, you silly girl." said Alice, hugging her. I heard Rosalie whisper a thank you to her and the same with Esme.

"Can I talk to you later?" whispered Rose to Bella. Bella looked surprised then nodded. Esme and Alice tried to hug Emma but she backed away.

"Sorry but I'm not here for a heartfelt family reunion. I am just here to play some baseball." said Emma. Seth came up behind her and held her hand. She looked at him and smiled. It was then that two new people walked in.

One I recognized as a wolf from La Push. I think that was Bella's friend Jacob that told her about us. He was stiff, glaring at Edward. He held the hand of a beautiful girl who had to be Renesmee. She had Edward's hair color and Bella's eyes from when she was human. She looked a lot like Edward, more like Edward than Bella. She was smiling. She looked around and her smile grew into a grin when she saw Edward. What she did next was unexpected. She ran up to Edward and put her arms around him and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Daddy!" yelled Renesmee, jumping into his arms. Eddie was shocked for a moment before wrapping his own arms around her. He closed his eyes. Bella, her family, and mine looked on with a smile on our faces. Emma was the only one not smiling. I could tell she hated Edward. She didn't like her greeting him so happily. "I love you, Daddy. I knew you'd come back. I knew it." she said, still hugging him.

"Of course you knew he'd come, kid. You can see the future." said Seth, laughing. Eddie pulled away from her and looked at her surprised.

"You can see the future?" he asked. She nodded with a grin. Aw Man! Not another psychic! "Among other things."

"Aw, not another one!" I commented. Renesmee looked at me and hugged me.

"You'll learn to love me, Uncle Em." she said, hugging me. She was hot, like warm hot, although she was pretty looking too but she's…ugh you know what I mean. Renesmee pulled away before hugging Alice. "You must be Auntie Alice. We'll get along well."

"I wouldn't know. I can't see." grumbled the pixie. He he, I was going to have fun with this. Poor pixie can't see anything, I feel bad for her….not! Hey, maybe I can finally beat her in a game! Yes! I looked at Eddie who just shook his head.

"Aw, that's ok Auntie Alice. You'll be able to soon with enough practice." Renesmee replied before hugging Rosie. "You have to be Auntie Rose." Rose looked surprised yet touched by the ease of Renesmee's acceptance of Rose into her family. Renesmee then did the same with Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper before going over to the dog's side, Jacob. I saw Edward's eyes narrow at their hands which were in each other's grasps.

"Relax, Edward. We'll talk about that later." whispered Bella into Edward's ear. The dog was still staring at my pretty niece, must not have noticed the exchange from mother to father. Boy, this dog was in for it later. Esme looked at both of Eddie's kids with a smile. Emma shifted uncomfortably.

"They are both so beautiful, Bella." said Esme. Emma blushed, turning her head into Seth's chest. Seth laughed. She was just like her mother. Yay, there's a new blushing Bella in town! This day keeps on getting better and better! I'm really going to like this girl! Renesmee looked at Esme, grinning at the compliment.

"Thanks, Grandma."

"Yeah, thanks. Emma and Nessie really needed their heads to be bigger than they already were." said another voice coming from the entrance of the forest. There were two people there. Hey! Eddie boy Jr. is back! "Don't ever call me that, Emmett." said Eddie Boy Jr. Can he read minds or something—oh! He nodded. Man, stupid mind readers! We are not going to get along so well. He chuckled. Man, he really was Eddie's kid. He growled. Ooh, Eddie Boy Jr. is mad.

"My head's not big, E.J." yelled Renesmee.

"Yes it is, Nessie. Your head's huge." yelled back Eddie Boy Jr., grinning.

"No it's not. Emma's maybe but not mine." Nessie yelled. Emma lifted her head to glare at the two of them.

"My head's not huge." screamed Emma. E.J and Nessie glanced at each other before turning back to her.

"Is too." they said in unison.

"Yeah, you think very highly of yourself." yelled Nessie.

"So maybe I have good self-esteem. Is that a bad thing?" replied Emma.

"It is when—" started E.J when Bella interrupted. DANG! It was just starting to get good.

"You three knock it off. There's no point in this argument about whose head is bigger." demanded Bella.

"Sorry, Mom." replied her kids in unison. Bella smiled. Eddie Boy Jr. sighed before walking up to Bella and Edward.

"Mom, I'm sorry for upsetting you. Edward, I'm sorry for punching you." said Eddie Boy Jr. I could tell he was not regretting it. He turned to Taylor. "Can I have my kiss now?" he asked. She giggled and planted one on him. The dude seriously apologized for something he was not regretting for a kiss? He was so whipped. He pulled away to glare at me. "I'm not whipped!" he yelled.

"Dude, you totally are. Who else would do that for a kiss?" I replied. He started to reply when Emma interceded. Yes, I know that word.

"He's right you are whipped." agreed Emma. Nessie nodded. He looks at everyone in his family.

"Is that really what you all think?" he asked them. Every single one of them, including Bella and Taylor, nodded. He waved his hand dismissively. "You guys suck anyway."

"Excuse me?" asked Taylor, raising an eyebrow. His eyes widened.

"I mean I love you. Don't leave me." He replied. She laughed and kissed him again.

"I will never leave you, babe. You're too much fun and way too cute." she answered back. He kisses her before looking back at us, excited.

"So who's up for some baseball?" he asked. Just as we were about to get ready two more people walked into the field, vampires. As they got closer, they started looking more and more familiar.

"Angela? Ben?" asked Edward, shocked. What? No way! Who are Angela and Ben again? I saw the pixie run up to them and hug them.

"How did you two become vampires?" asked Alice.

"That woman, Victoria, the one that was after Bella, changed me. I changed Angela after she gave birth to Taylor. She almost died then." explained Ben.

"You two are Taylor's parents?" asked Edward. They nodded, looking at her with pride.

"Yep and we adore her." replied Angela.

"Aw and I love you guys too. Just not always together and at the same time." replied Taylor.

"Why don't you always love them together?" asked Alice.

"Well you wouldn't want to watch your parents making out all the time especially when you don't always see your boyfriend every minute of every day. When I'm missing E.J, I'd rather not see my parents…doing anything." she explained. Alice laughed.

"Understandable."

"No offense but who are you guys?" I asked. Alice looked at me.

"Angela and Ben were Bella's, Edward's, and my human friends from before we left. They were nice to us. Glad to know you two are still together." replied Alice. Oh yeah! I remember now!

"Haven't actually been apart for long." replied Ben before kissing Angela. "Now are we playing or what?"

Everyone set up for the game. More werewolves from La Push joined in to play the wonderful game. This would be interesting. I asked Alice who would win, just to annoy her, and she yelled at me after the fifth time in an hour. She was on a short fuse. Shorty has a temper today. She doesn't like that she can't see. Emma still wouldn't talk to any of us Cullens and neither would E.J but I have a feeling that if there was one person they would not say a word to it would be Edward. Bella though only ever left Eddie's side to hug her son but soon returned to him. Nessie stayed near them and did talk to Edward. He looked happy that she was actually talking to him. One out of the three kids was talking to him, not too bad. Bella talked to the dog Jacob…he was kind of annoying. He stunk. Rosie didn't like him at all. Seth, the other werewolf, was ok. He was actually pretty cool. He didn't mind talking to us. The other werewolves weren't talking to us either. I feel like we are outsiders. It sucks. You have no idea!

We were all in the middle of the field. Anne ran out to get some paper and a pen so she could figure out the teams and even them out. Apparently if she doesn't do it, it never turns out fair. I would say let's not have her do it and let them all try and beat us but she insisted and this future seer is worse than the pixie. She doesn't stop. Anne ran back and got in the center and told us to make a circle. We did as she asked and she called out two names that would be team captains.

"Alright, since we know you two can't be on the same team, E.J and Emmalie get up here. You two are the team captains. E.J gets to pick first." They both came to the center and stared at each other competitively, almost asking them to 'bring it on'. "E.J pick between me and Alice for future seers."

"I pick Anne." yelled E.J. Anne went by his side smiling.

"That's my almost-nephew." she replied patting his head. "Alice, you are on Emma's team." Alice skipped over to Emma's side. "Now since E.J's a mental shield and a mind reader, Edward and Bella are on Emma's side."

"Wait, he's both? How is that fair?" I yelled. Anne laughed.

"I don't know. It's not fair. But they were all born this way. Each half vampire has two powers to make up for their human traits." answered Anne. I nodded. "Now since Emma is a physical shield and an empath, Jasper and Angela you guys are on E.J's side. E.J you can have Taylor otherwise you will beg. Emma, you can have Ben and John. E.J you choose between Jason and Emmett."

"I'll take Uncle Jase."

"Then you also will get need to choose between Esme and Carlisle."

"I'll take Carlisle."

"And since you and Nessie are also not allowed to be on the same team, Ness you are on Emma's team. In return, you get Rosalie and first pick on the wolves."

"I'll take Jacob." replied E.J with a smirk on his face.

"You suck, Edward Jacob!" yelled Nessie. He chuckled.

"Anyway, E.J, pick another wolf."

"I pick Paul." he replied.

"Emma?" asked Anne.

"Seth." she answered.

"I pick Jared."

"I choose Embry."

"Dibs on Quil."

"Then I got Leah." finished Emma. Overall, it was a pretty interesting team. E.J's team was E.J, Anne, Jasper, Angela, Taylor, Rose, Jason, Carlisle, Paul, Jared, Quil, and to Nessie's dislike, Jacob. Emma's team was Emma, Alice, Edward, Bella, Ben, me, Esme, Renesmee, John, Seth, Embry, and Leah.

"Now I got two things to say." started Anne. "One: Don't hold back. We like you to show us what you've got. We do in fact use our powers so don't hold back on us. Two: Have fun and may the best team win."

The game went on for a few hours. The storm started exactly when we decided to start. Anne must have known that it would take forever to get everyone to the field. One of the fun parts was when Bella was up to bat. She totally hit the ball so far out that she was actually able to trip before making it to the home base. Yes, she tripped. Bella's still clumsy. Ha ha, Edward's getting a kick out of that too. I heard him laughing and saying 'that's my Bella'. Emma then snarled at him. It was awkward when Jacob took down Nessie. E.J got the ball back and Jacob caught it and tried to catch her and did and ended up on top of her somehow. It looked weird to me. I don't know about anyone else but it was weird to me. It was tense on our side because Emma was still not getting along too well with Edward. She seemed like she wanted to snap at him a lot. In the beginning of the game, E.J's team was creaming us. Apparently, Nessie and Emma were taking it easy on him for the first half. They have fun making him think he's going to win and then he loses. We ended up winning in the end. Emma and Nessie came up with a plan that kicked butt. My two nieces are evil geniuses. It was pretty fun. It would have been better had there been no problems between Edward and his daughter. She definitely would be more receptive toward him and any ideas he had had they gotten along better.

Rose and Nessie talked after the game and it looked like Rose was really feeling better about everything we found out today. It sounded like she was in the process of getting ready for the conversation she needed to have with Bella. Alice and Anne really clicked like Jasper thought they would. Jasper and John talked. I talked to Bella's brother, Jason. We both enjoyed it and everyone was communicating with someone. Emma and E.J were the only two who didn't seem to care about us. They left the room, not wanting to talk to any of us. It made us all a little sad. We wished they would open up to us soon. Honestly things were finally getting better after years and years of misery. Edward never seemed to be so happy in a long time. I hope my niece and nephew come around soon. Bella says they will but I'm not so sure. I hope she's right. She says Emma will be the first one to come around. I wonder how long that will take.

_Emma POV:_

It has been two weeks since the Cullens came to town. I have not talked to any of them since the day they first came here. I still have nothing to say to any of them. But sadly enough, I can feel myself moving toward forgiving them but I don't want to forgive them. They have been good to Nessie so far. A part of me is saying that if they could be so good to Nessie, they could be regretting what they did all those years ago and that maybe they do care about us. But I know in some part of me that that is the part that had always wanted her daddy. I know I will never have a daddy and that's the way I want it. Edward has tried to reach out to me but I've ignored him. Mom's tried to get me to talk to him but knows there's nothing she can do. If I wanted to I'll come to him in my own time, not someone else's. One thing though has made it easier for me to be around them…Seth.

Seth has not left the town since the baseball game. Normally he'd go back to La Push with all the other wolves but he said that he was going to be here for me because he knew I needed him. He was right. I did need him. I was so confused and he made it all make sense. Things are…well…things are perfect with him. I told this to my sister once two days ago and she made me believe something that I never even considered before.

**I was sitting at home in the living room. Nessie and I were home alone. Seth and Jacob left to meet the other wolves somewhere and everyone else went hunting. Seth was not going to be back for another week. I missed him and I knew Nessie missed Jake too. He was pretty cool too but I missed Seth the most. Ness noticed the look on my face and talked to me about it.**

**"You miss Seth, don't you?" asked Ness. I nodded.**

**"Yeah. Things just aren't the same without him. He's been especially helpful these last few weeks. I needed someone to talk to and he was there. I don't like it when he leaves. He's best friend. Around him…things are perfect. He's perfect." I replied, sighing. She grinned at me. "Why are you looking at me like that?"**

**"You love him!" she said. I looked at her shocked. What?**

**"Who?"**

**"Seth!" I do not love Seth! She's crazy!**

**"I do not." She nodded repeatedly, still grinning.**

**"Yes you do. You don't like being away from him and from what it sounds like, it sounds like how I felt about Jake before I realized I was in love with him."**

**"I don't sound like that!" I argued.**

**"Yes you do. You talk about how perfect he is. He makes you feel better. It's like when I used to feel bad about something and he was always there. You don't like being apart. You're hopelessly addicted to that average looking fellow." she replied with as smirk.**

**"I am not hopelessly addicted and that 'fellow' as you call him, he's not average looking. He's extremely good looking." I replied. My eyes widened at my last sentences. She grinned evilly. "That means nothing! I can think my best friend's cute."**

**"You two flirt shamelessly, dude!" she yelled. When?**

**"When do we 'flirt'?"**

**"Um, do the names 'babe', 'sexy', or 'sweetie' mean anything to you?" she asked.**

**"That's just us teasing each other. They mean nothing, Ness." I replied, getting ready to leave the room. Then she says some things that stop me.**

**"So you don't get nervous when you see him? You don't feel sparks when your hands touch? You don't feel like you are more yourself with him than you are with anyone else? You don't feel like he understands you better than anyone else?" I went through all her questions in my head and realized I do feel all those things. There are sparks when we touch. I do feel a little nervous around him. I do act more like myself when he's there. He does understand me better than everyone. Do I really love him? I thought about it for a second and realized that…yes I do love him. But there was nothing I could do about it. I turned back to Nessie.**

**"Ness, it doesn't matter, ok? Maybe…maybe I do love him but there's nothing I can do about it. One day, he'll fall in love with someone else and I'll be left alone again. I'm not willing to feel that." I responded.**

**"What makes you think he'll fall in love with someone else?" she asked.**

**"You of all people should know that answer. He's going to imprint one day and I'll be left in the cold." I responded. She shook her head.**

**"He wouldn't do that." **

**"He would have a choice. It's not a crush, Ness. The Sam-Leah-Emily triangle is proof of that. Sam loved Leah and he imprinted on Emily and didn't have a choice. It hurt Sam because he hurt Leah and I'm not about to make Seth feel that way. So if you'll excuse me…" I said, leaving the room. **

I did love Seth but we would never be. He would imprint and everything would play out that way. I would rather remain loveless than to hurt Seth later on in life. Seth was too important to me. I wouldn't let him get hurt. He was too special. I will not lie and say that me getting hurt is not another deciding factor. I don't want to get hurt in the end either. I saw what it did to Leah and I saw what it did to Mom and I will not let that happen to me. I will not turn into Leah and I will not turn into Mom. But Seth really was my main concern. Ness told me I can be such a masochist. Whatever. Mom heard her call me that and said I got it from my biological father. Yeah whatever.

This morning was uneventful. All of my family went out hunting except me. They weren't going to be back until much later. I sat down watching TV. I didn't have much else to do. The wolves were having some big council meeting thing in La Push. It was taking a whole week so no Seth or Jacob. I missed Seth but I can deal with the no Jacob concept. Jake's cool just not as cool as Seth. They weren't coming back until later tonight. I heard a knock on the door. I went to open up the door and found stupid Edward Cullen in the doorway.

"Mom's not here if that's who you're looking for." I stated venomously. He sighed.

"I'm not looking for your mother." he replied. I looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Then what do you want?" I responded. He tried to take a step in but I blocked his way. He was leaving anyways. He just didn't know it. He managed to walk past me.

"I wanted to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about."

"Yes we do."

"NO, we don't."

"I'm not leaving until we talk." I looked outside and noticed the sun was shining and smirked.

"Well, fine. You can stay here and I'll leave, where you can't follow me." I said, walking out. He noticed the sun and some people walking down the street. I smiled and waved to him. He was not going to follow me. He can't follow me otherwise he would be exposing vampires and he'd get in trouble for that. The difference between half vampires and full vampires are that full vamps can sparkle whereas half vamps can't and may come and go whenever they so please.

A several hours went by. I decided that since I was out I was not going to avoid the temptation to shop. I went around the main city where it was also shining and decided to go on a shopping spree. Aunt Anne would be proud. She loves it when I go shopping without being forced to do so. I'm one of the few people in the house she can take shopping without a hassle.

It was dark now and I walking down the street. I didn't want to go home. I knew that Edward was still going to be there. If there was one thing I learned while he was here, trying to get me and E.J to forgive him, it was that he didn't give up. He was stubborn, like me. I'll admit it. There are some truths to how we are alike but that's as far as I will compare us. I was walking down a street when I heard whistles from behind me. I looked and saw three men, staring at me. It made me uncomfortable. I felt their attraction to me. It made me even more uneasy. I walked a bit faster. I wanted to be away from them. I didn't want them to keep seeing me. I came around a corner and noticed they were following me and that made me feel even more uneasy. I walked faster and faster, I heard them running to catch up. I looked behind me and only one was still following. I felt a bit more secure in that moment. But that did not last long because soon I saw the other two men blocking the only other way out. Another man then came and stood by the other one at the other side.

I was freaked. I could feel their desire. I knew what they wanted. They came closer to me. I would have tried to run but I felt myself backed up against a wall. I felt all four men holding me to the wall. Another man entered the alley and this one started to frighten me. I was really getting scared. I could throw these guys away from me. One: it would risk exposure and two: I was too paralyzed by my own fear and the others around me. My range was finding some fear from somewhere nearby, probably another victim. The guy came closer to me when he was pushed away by an unseen force into the wall, hard. The guys holding me were then thrown away from me into that same wall. I looked over to where my rescuer was and saw a familiar face.

**AN: Can anybody guess who it is?**


	12. Ch11: Rescuers and almost kisses

**AN: Hey guys! Worked as hard as I could! I was really worried about not being able to update this week but I managed to get this much done! Hope you all like it! Thanks to all of you for making it this far into my story and for all the past reviews you may have sent. Read and Review! Love to hear what you have to say. This is the same comment from before but it is still fitting so it stays. Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight but Stephenie Meyer does so yeah...**

**Chapter Eleven**

_Emma POV:_

I looked into the familiar face of my rescuer. His face was twisted in anger. I could feel the infuriated vibes off of him. It kind of suprised me but pleased me at the same time. He was staring at the unconscious bodies of my attackers before he picked up one of them with his hands. He took him so he was face to face with the leader of the group. The leader had awoken and saw his eyes and was absolutely terrified. Growls filled the air in the alley. He had the leader by the collar before saying something with venom in his voice.

"Don't you ever come near her ever again, do you understand me? You ever touch her again and I will not leave u here alive!" He said before throwing the guy back into the wall, causing him to go unconscious again. "Don't ever touch my daughter again." he spat one last time before turning toward me.

Edward's eyes were black with fury. I had never seen him this way. I never even imagined he would care this much. Nor have I never thought I would be so happy as to see him or that I would be so glad he followed me after I specifically asked him not to. He had perfect timing. I thought that something bad would happen but here he was, saving me. I could see the look in his eyes, the look that reminded me of my brother E.J when he felt the need to protect me. His eyes softened when they fell on me. He came closer to me. Normally I would have moved away but I never felt safer with him here.

"Are you ok, Emma?" asked Edward, still a little angry. I nodded. He sighed before gesturing me to follow him. Normally I wouldn't follow him either since I hate being pushed around but I couldn't help but fell like I needed to. He lead me to his silver Volvo. We got in but neither said a word. I looked at him.

"Are you ok?" I asked him. He glanced at me before turning his eyes back on the road.

"No, not really." he replied. He didn't elaborate so I remained quiet.

We rode back together in silence. We pulled into the driveway. As we went in I saw every one in my family gathered in the living room and with the added additions of Seth and Jake. Everyone looked at us, looks ranging from shocked to confused. I saw Edward move over toward Mom and kiss her. Anne looked at me sympathetically. Of course she knew what happened. I saw E.J was confused. _Emma, are you alright? You seem a little...different. Your thoughts are a little muddled, confusing_, he thought to me. I nodded._ I'm fine, E.J. Really_, I thought back to him but I felt him still suspicious. I walked over to Seth.

"Seth, can I talk to you for a little bit?" I asked him. He looked at me and nodded. He sent me a smile which forced me to send one back, and took my hand and led me out of the house and into our place in the woods. When we finally got there, I gave him a hug, grabbing him tightly, still scared from what happened. He pulled away before looking at me concerned.

"What's wrong?" asked Seth. I felt a tear come down my cheek. He grabbed me in a warm embrace and held me as we laid together on the ground. It felt good to be in his arms. He was so warm, so comfortable. I loved that about him. He was always here when I needed him. He truly was one of a kind. He would never do what the attackers would have done. I sighed, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Nothing." I said, not wanting to explain it to him knowing how angry he'd get. He looked down at me and raised an eyebrow.

"And why don't I believe that?" he asked with a small half smile. "Come on, tell me." It was then that I realized I could deny him of what he wanted.

"I kind of got into some trouble earlier." I stated. He looked at me worried.

"What kind of trouble?" he asked.

"I got attacked by some guys." I said. He looked at me worried. "I got scared. I couldn't move. I felt a lot of fear and I knew what they wanted and I couldn't move! I was so scared. I froze. I couldn't even keep them away from me. I didn't know what to do. I just didn't know how I could get out of it. I was paralyzed. They had actually frightened me." I explained. I felt his grip tighten on me. I looked up at him and into his eyes. He was furious. I placed my hand on his face to calm him down and tried to calm him down with my powers as well. His eyes softened. "Don't worry. I was saved."

"By who?" he asked, still a little angry.

"My dad." I replied. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Your dad?" I nodded. He looked like he was absorbing what I said before sending me a smile. "So someone was right about someone's dad, weren't they babe?" he asked. I laughed.

"Yeah I guess someone was." I replied, chuckling. I thought back to Edward's reaction. He noticed the look on my face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Something just bothers me."

"What?"

"Edward's reaction. I mean, he saw what happened and he was furious. I could feel how angry he was. It was like when E.J is trying to protect me. He was just...I don't know. I didn't expect it. I didn't think he'd care that much." I explained. He looked down at me and smiled.

"Em, he's your father. You are his daughter. He loves you. Of course he cares about you. And how could he not? Em, you are an amazing girl. No one could ever not care for you. You are one of the best people I know. You are gentle, kind, sensitive, intelligent, beautiful." he said, looking into my eyes. He leaned down closer as I lifted my head closer. Our lips moved closer and closer before he pulled back and looked down at me. "We should go." he said.

"Ok." I replied. He and I got up.

I hid my disappointment well. I wanted to kiss him and yet he pulled away. I was confused. Had he wanted to kiss me? I thought I felt his desire but it could have been my own. I wanted to know. I wanted him and he was making it so dang hard for me to keep my feelings for him a secret. The only one who knew was Nessie and I wanted to keep it that way. But here he was complimenting me, almost kissing me...it made it that much harder not to grab him and plant one on him. He was perfect for me. He knew everything about me. I knew he would never intentionally hurt me either but I couldn't be with him. I wasn't the one. He would have told me. I would have known. He would have imprinted on me.

I envy Jake and Nessie. Jake and Ness can have a relationship without worrying about him hurting her. He couldn't. He imprinted on her and loved her more than anything. She was his world. Jake was hers and it was as if their romance was perfect. It made me a bit jealous. I couldn't kiss the man I loved. I was falling deeper in love with him every freaking day! I could never tell him because one day, he would fall for someone else and I would end up hurt. I dated a vampire once and it didn't work out. He found a mate in another vampire. It sucked! Jake did everything for Nessie and spent every moment he could with her and openly told her every few flippin minutes that he loved her so much. She could tell him and not hide it like I had to. Why did Seth and I have to be so complicated?

I went over this in my head the whole time we walked home. Neither one of us said a word, both of us in our thoughts. This was I time I would have loved to have my father or E.J's power. I was worried that this may have effected our friendship which I had hoped it would not. Seth was the one person that I needed in my life more than anything. I obsessed the whole time. When we finally got to the house, I felt Seth grab my arm gently.

"What is it?" I asked Seth.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry I couldn't save you myself and that I think you should talk to your dad. You need to hear from him why he saved you. After that you can't just ignore him." I sighed. I really didn't want to talk to him though I knew I had to. I nodded.

"I'll talk to him." I said. He sent me an encouraging smile.

"Do you promise?" he asked.

"I promise." I said. He turned to start walking toward the house when he turned back toward me.

"One more thing. Promise that you will keep yourself safe and that if you ever get into this situation again, you will call me. I couldn't bear it if someone hurt you." he said. I was confused why he had to even ask me to do that but regardless, I nodded.

"I promise." I repeated. He smiled and gave me a kiss on the forehead, freezing me in my spot, before going into the house. I was pleasantly surprised. He never kissed me before, not even on the forehead. He was always surprising me. Did that mean he liked me? I shook myself out of my thoughts and went into the house. As soon as I entered, I heard my parents having a conversation.

"You just need to give her time, Edward. She needs it. I mean her whole life she's lived without her father and then suddenly you come and she has one...it's hard on her. She may look like a teenager but she acts like an adult would in this situation. She's just not ready for this all right now. It's a lot to take in. She will talk to you when she's ready." said my mother.

"I know. I just...I want to be able to have a relationship with her that is not her hating me for the rest of her life. She doesn't understand. I just...I want to explain things to her like I explained them to you. She just won't give me time to do it." my father replied, sighing at the end. I stood there, trying to get the courage to ask for a conversation with him. After a minute, I walked into the living room where my parents were. They both looked at me. I looked at Edward.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked him. He looked me surprised and then Mom who looked the same way but gave him an encouraging smile. He nodded. I walked out knowing he'd follow me. The two of us walked quietly to the clearing we had played baseball. We got there and sat down. It was silent for a few moments before he spoke.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" he asked.

"A couple of things actually. First of all, I want to know how many people you told about what happened in the city." I demanded. He looked at me silently. The silence was irritating. How long does it take to answer a flipping question?

"None." he replied. That surprised me. I tried to sense for any evidence of him decieving me in his feelings and got nothing. He told no one? He didn't tell anyone about this? What about Mom?

"You didn't even tell Mom?" I clarified. He shook his head. He surprised me greatly. But this left me with another question. "Why?" He looked at me confused.

"Why what?" he asked.

"Why didn't you tell anyone? I was almost certain you would. Why didn't you?" I asked.

"I figured you didn't want me to. Emma, I didn't want to upset you any further. I was already on thin ice with you as it is. I didn't want to make things worse between us. I did what I thought you wanted me to do. I kept quiet. I also didn't want to worry your brother or sister or mother with what happened. They'd probably worry. I thought it was better we kept it between the two of us." he answered.

"The three of us." I responded.

"Three?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah, you, me, and Seth. I kind of told him. He and I were talking and he asked about what happened and I told him everything. Up from those guys attacking to you saving me. Which brings me to my next question. Why did you save me?" I replied. He looked at me incredulously. He was in shock at what I had just asked.

"I saved you because you're my daughter."

"So just because we share blood, you save me? That's it?" I replied, a little mad and hurt. So he didn't care about me because I'm me but because I was just his daughter? I got up but he got in front of me before I could leave.

"That's not the only it, Emma. Yes you are my daughter but I love you, Emma. I have loved you since the moment I heard about you. You are the daughter of not only me but one of the most beautiful and perfect women in the world. I loved you even more every time I heard something new about you. Bella told me about how kind, gentle, stubborn, smart, and thoughtful you are. I admired that a lot about you. Then I heard some stories and I loved you more and more. I saw some of your sister's memories and...I just kept on loving you as my daughter. You may not know me but I have gotten to know you and I love you and care for you deeply. No one will ever hurt you. I will never let anyone lay a hand on my daughter." he explained. I felt some of the hurt go away. I couldn't help but feel touched.

"Thank you...for...saving me. I am...truly grateful." I said with difficulty. It wasn't because I was lying. I was grateful. It was just hard saying these words to him when I still kind of hated him. I needed more time to get rid of the negative feelings. Also, he had better have a good reason for leaving so...

"You're welcome and I'm hoping that maybe we can get to know each other better without having to result to talking to others. I really want to know you personally and I would like the chance to explain myself if you'd let me." he replied. I sighed. I was kind of afraid of that. I don't want him to think suddenly I'll be able to talk to him. It's still fairly hard and I needed to absorb some things before hearing his story.

"I know you want that and I think some part of me wants that too but I need more time. I mean, a few hours ago I thought you could care less about me and then suddenly you tell me you love me? It's a huge bomshell on a girl who has always thought her dad didn't care. I'm not saying we won't ever talk and that I will keep ignoring you because I've decided that won't ever work but I need time. I promise I will talk to you soon, I just need some time to sort things out." I responded, pleading for him to understand. I saw him reluctantly nod. He looked down. I could feel him hurt and placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked up surprised. I sent him a small smile. "I promise I will talk to you. I will let you explain. Just give me a few days. If it will make you feel any better, I promise that the day Aunt Rose explains herself to Mom the next day I will let you explain yourself to me. Sound fair?" I offered. He smiled a little and nodded.

"Aunt Rose?" he asked with an eyebrow raised. I knew that was coming.

Truth was as much as I had hated Edward, I couldn't do the same to his family, at least not on the inside. I didn't really talk to them but I did watch them react with my family and liked what I saw. Aunt Rose was one that I accepted fast. We had some things in common according to Mom. I knew her story. E.J had seen it and in turn played it in my head when she told Nessie and hoped to tell us. Uncle Emmett was just a goofball. I enjoyed him and even laughed with him around. He was just so amusing. E.J told me he planned on a prank war soon and he was already picking sides. He was very in touch with his inner child. Uncle Jazz was fairly cool. He had been the only one I had said a word to. I hadn't shown him that I liked him but I had talked to him a bit more than others. He also seemed to make my Aunt Anne calm down a little and help my sister and mom out so I respected him for that. Aunt Alice was pretty awesome. She loved shopping like me. She did remind me a lot of Aunt Anne so I definitely liked her but it also scared me. One Anne was enough. Two would be a nightmare. Esme and Carlisle were so kind and so sincere that I could never hate them. I liked them the moment they came back. It made it hard for me to hate my family. That totally sucked.

"Yeah, yeah. I called her Aunt Rose. Don't let her get a big head over it. I had not managed to hate any of your family so I've been thinking of all of them that way but I swear if you tell them that, the deal is off!" I said. I had not wanted anyone to know that I was slowly accepting people. I had a reputation for being stubborn and I'd like to keep it that way. He grinned.

"Our little secret." he replied. I sent him a smile.

"Good. I can't have people think I've grown soft now, can I?" I asked, still smiling.

"Of course not. You do have an image to protect. No one is as stubborn as you and E.J, or at least that's why I hear." he answered. I started walking away before turning around toward him one last time.

"Mom says we get that from you." I said before turning around and walking away. That went better than expected. Maybe I was wrong about him. I had no idea if that was true but soon I would find out. Maybe he did in fact deserve a second chance. We would have to wait and see if I still feel that way after I found out what he did. He'd better have a good reason for hurting my mother though, a very good reason.

_Edward POV:_

I walked back to the house after seeing Emmalie, my daughter, run off. She seemed to be done talking to me but I was ok with how sort of short it was. I was just grateful that she had talked to me at all. Emma had hated me and said nothing to me since she saw me. Then I come in and save her from those...those...I couldn't even find a word for those men that tried to hurt my daughter. At the moment I remember seeing red. All I wanted was to destroy them for what they tried to do. I was furious which was to be expected. Then I came home saw Bella and had a conversation with her about how Emma was never going to talk to me and then suddenly she comes in asks for a chat. I was pleasantly surprised by her sudden ability to let me in. She even gave me a time when I could explain myself. If there was something Bella told me about her, the fact that she never broke a promise was one of her greatest qualities.

For years, Emma has made promises to her family and everytime she did she kept them. Bella said that she did it to make her different from me. She said that Emma felt that she needed to feel different from me. She hated me for breaking my promise I made to Bella, the one where I said I would never leave her. Bella said that since that night she told the kids about it, she refused to break a promise. She didn't want to be like me and I didn't blame her. I had made a promise and broken it and I'm proud of her for keeping hers. She proved that she and I were different. It was one of the many things I admired about her.

When I came back, I saw Bella sitting on the couch talking to Alice, Emmett, Jason, and Anne. They were laughing. I came in and everyone looked in my direction. Bella got up, hugged me, and then gave me a kiss.

"I missed you too." I said when she pulled away. She sent me her beautiful smile and laughed.

"How was your conversation with Emma?" she asked, ignoring my comment.

"It was good, surprising, but good." I answered. She put her hand on my cheek.

"Good. What did you guys talk about?" she asked. I smiled.

"Not much. She didn't let me talk about what happened a little over ten years ago but she said she'd give me the opportunity later." I replied. She raised one of her eyebrows.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked. "She doesn't forgive easily, Edward. She's stubborn and she fights until she gets her way. She wouldn't just forgive you like that. Don't get me wrong I'm glad but-" I looked at her lovingly and placed a kiss on her forehead. I placed her face in my hands, my palms on both of her cheeks.

"Nothing of importance, love. Everything's fine. I think things may start getting better between us. Don't ask me how. It's not important. There's no need to worry. Everything is fine." I said. She looked at me suspiciously before letting it go. My Bella always knew how to pick her battles and knew that I would say nothing.

"Just so you know, I'm only not asking anymore because I know you won't say anything and because I'm going to respect my daughter's privacy and that's all." she stated. I caressed her cheek.

"I know that, love." I replied, kissing her one more time before being interrupted by Emmett's loud and annoying fake cough. We pulled away and saw now my entire family there in the living room. Jason and Anne seemed to go missing.

"What are you all doing here? When did you get here and where did Jase and Anne go?" Bella asked, confused.

"Anne and Jase said that they wanted some time alone. Everyone left the house to give us some time here...just us and you. They knew there was something we needed to talk about...something we needed to hear from you." replied Alice, waiting eagerly to hear what she wanted to hear. She was more bubbly. It must be the fact that since no one is here, she can see the future again.

"What did you need to hear?" Bella asked, still confused. "I thought I told you everything."

"Not exactly." said Jasper.

"We wanted to know your story. We got the cliff notes version but now we want the longer version in your point of view. How did everything happen? What happened after we left and after you realized you were pregnant? How did you get in contact with John? How did you meet Anne and find Jason? How did you get turned and survive the birth of the kids? How did you meet up again with Angela and Ben?" clarified Rosalie. Bella sighed and sat down. She looked at me.

"Edward, you should sit down. It's a long story. You're going to be here awhile." I did as she suggested and sat down on the couch. I picked her up and put her on my lap. She giggled and kissed me before Emmett cleared his throat again. My parents looked at me amused. Bella looked down embarassed. I knew she would have blushed if she could. She looked back up and began her story. I listened intensly, ready to hear about my Bella and the birth of my three perfect miracles. I wanted to hear this and now she was about to satisfy my questions.

"It all started after you guys left..." she began.

**AN: Ok so this next chapter is going to be Bella's story and maybe more, depending on the length. I thought it was time to hear her side of the story. There are still some little details that need to be said so...I'm sorry it's short I'm trying to update this week and this is the most I could do without making it too long. Hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know what you think. I like to know what your thoughts are. Thanks!**


	13. Ch12: Bella's life, fights, and apology

**AN:** **Hey all! Yes, it's finally finished! Sorry it's been so long! It's been hectic around here! I'm going to try and get back to my schedule. It was a little hard but I'm going to try to fix my schedule. So this should be updated in a couple more weeks. I would love to hear what you all think this chapter so please read and review! I really want to know what you all think about it! If you are a reader of my other story "What Happened in 1918?" I'm gonna try and update it in the coming weeks, hopefully very soon. I think I'm going to put up a poll on that story asking about the baby/babies about the number and things similar to that area. But anyway, check out my poll please if you read the story because I may be able update sooner if I know your guys' opinions so please vote! If you don't, I'm just going to choose so...please let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters! Stephenie Meyer does!**

**Summary:** Set after Edward left in New Moon. Bella's life started to fall apart when he left but then some surprises come her way and practically takes away her life in Forks. Edward and his family come back a year later to find out Bella had died about two weeks after they left. Edward and his family are heartbroken until Jasper gets a call from an old friend asking him and his family to be a part of her wedding. Tensions rise and some angers are tested. Secrets and pasts are revealed and some relationships are tested. It's time to see what all of them are made of.

**Chapter Twelve**

_Bella POV:_

I wasn't surprised when the Cullens asked about my story. Things had definitely changed since the day Edward and the rest of the Cullens left. I doubted the fact that Anne would have told them everything. It wasn't like she told them from the beginning I was alive. She had to avoid that but she knew she couldn't avoid the subject of me completely so she probably told them very little. The extra details were most likely left out, the things they may have wanted to know. It was about time they knew.

"When you guys left…when Edward left…I felt like…like I had nothing left to live for anymore. It was an awful feeling. For weeks I was catatonic, or at least that's what the doctors diagnosed me as. I walked around school, empty. I didn't really speak to anyone either. I had some problems with eating and sleeping, especially sleeping. I had woken up at night, screaming. Dad came in and checked on me from time to time. He really got worried. He saw how lost I was, how lost without Edward I was. Things just weren't normal anymore. Normal didn't seem to even be a concept even close to how I was feeling. The only time I even felt the slight bit normal was when I was around Jake.

"Jake had been there since the first day. I locked myself in my room the first day and he'd been persistent, trying to talk to me. He wanted to be there for me and never gave up. I wanted him to at first but then I let him in and he became like an addiction to me. We'd gotten so close and I could not bear him being away from me. I didn't understand it at first, neither did he. We both felt the same way. It scared me. I wasn't ready to feel anything for anyone after what happened between me and Edward. I did try to push him away for a bit and he did the same but for different reasons. I couldn't resist being away from him but he kept trying to keep me away from him. He claimed it was to help me, to keep me safe. I didn't understand that then. Jake eventually hinted to me what he was. He asked me about the story and I started remembering him telling me about the Quileutes being descended from wolves. It was then that I figured out he was a werewolf. I thought nothing could be stranger than the fact that my best friend was a werewolf and the love of my life was a vampire but then I realized something else. It was about two weeks later that I found out I was pregnant.

"I came home one night, feeling sick to my stomach. I originally thought I just ate some bad food but I dismissed that idea the minute I realized I was late. Edward, you were the only one I have ever done anything with. I couldn't believe it. I didn't think that vampires could have kids. I was not prepared for this. I realized even quicker more things about me being pregnant. It had only been two weeks since I got pregnant and I already had a bump. It wouldn't be possible unless the father was you and you know that. When I saw my bump, it was when I realized I had to get away. Charlie would notice so I packed my bags. I called Jake and asked him for help, knowing he would help me. He immediately answered and I explained the situation. At first, he was furious but he pulled himself together for me, so we could get away unnoticed. Jake told Sam about the baby and Sam then called a friend of his hanging over in Oregon. His friend was a werewolf and he knew a vampire who they thought could help me, a vampire that later became family to me…John Andrews.

"Jake and I drove to Oregon where we met John. We were both nervous about the meeting. After all, the only vampires I knew besides you guys were the ones that drank human blood. I didn't know what to expect from John. I assumed he had to have been a great vampire, a vegetarian, because the werewolves liked in a way. They respected him. Sam's friend had a pack and they respected him but still didn't like him on their lands. In a way it was similar to what you had with the Quileutes, except they got along better. Jake had been protective of me when we met up with John. John was very curious when we first met. I told him my story, how everything happened. He listened intently, genuinely interested in what I was saying. I asked him what he thought and how he thought it may have worked. John had no clue. When I reached the end of my story, I started to cry. Jake came over and comforted me. John watched the two of us and said he would help me. He would help me go through this, have the baby without any troubles. I was grateful to him. It then became John, Jake, and me. It was just the three of us for awhile. A month went by and…I started to miss someone, someone who always made everything feel better, someone who saved me from everything, someone who made me laugh when I was sad, someone I loved dearly, Jason.

"My emotions were a little off around that time. I was a bit unreasonable if you asked John. When I told him that I wanted my brother here, that I needed him, he and Jake were immediately against it. They continued to say that he didn't have a clue about this life and that it would put him in danger to know the secret. Jake said it just wouldn't be safe here because for all we knew my baby would be dangerous. He actually used the word 'monster' but I didn't believe my baby was a monster. Jake believed that because I was dying. I was heavily pregnant within a month and I was dying from it. I had some ribs broken and I couldn't hold any food down. I thought I would be strong enough to at least have the baby but I thought that if these were my last moments, I didn't want my last words to my brother being 'I hate you'."

If I could have cried at that moment I would have. That was one of the worst moments in my life. I had hurt his feelings so deeply that day. I told my mom that day that I wanted to go back to Forks, to live. She was shocked and saddened. She had asked me to stay but I told her I wanted to live with Charlie. My mother then did a last minute effort by telling me to do the task I had not wanted to do. She told me that I had to tell my brother. My brother was going to take it hard but when I told him, things between us took for the worst.

**I walked up the stairs to my brother's room, dreading each step closer. I was scared. What would Jason say? Would he yell at me? Would he hate me? Worse, would he not even care? I walked closer. I saw the white door and hesitated before knocking on the door. I could hear the music blasting from outside the door. A minute passed and I began to walk away, panicking. But as I walked away, I heard the door open and a voice call out to me.**

"**Bells? Hi, is there something you wanted? Sorry I thought you were Mom. I was trying to finish clearing things up in here because you know how she can be." said Jase with a huge grin on his face.**

"**Yeah I do. Um, I need to talk to you for a minute or two about something." I replied. He nodded and let me in. I saw his art easel in the corner of the room. The red on the walls and the blue carpet, the computer on the back wall were all as I remembered. I sat down on his bed and he came and sat beside me. He looked at me silently, waiting for me to say something. I gave him a hug, holding onto him, knowing soon I'd have to let go. He was surprised by this sudden move but hugged me back. I felt him tense up. He knew something was coming. He knew what I was going to say was bad. We pulled away. Jase looked worried. I looked away when I told him.**

"**Jase, I'm moving." I blurted out. I peaked a glance at him and saw his face looking confused.**

"**Moving? Where? I didn't know we were moving, at least not yet anyway." Jase responded. I closed my eyes.**

"**There's no 'we', Jase. I'm moving, just me. I'm uh…moving in with Charlie." I clarified. There was a silence between us. I opened my eyes and saw pain on Jase's face.**

"**You're going away…from Phoenix? Why?" he asked.**

"**I don't want Mom to have to choose between me and Phil anymore. She doesn't ever have to worry about you because you are always out. You hang out with all your guy friends and don't need to be taken care of and she's not going to put the pressure of taking care of me on you so she stays. I'm not going to make her choose between us, especially when she chooses me and is always upset with the decision. So I decided that I'm going to move in with Charlie. He told me it was alright. In fact, he's excited to have me around. I just…I need to go." I answered.**

"**So you are just going to leave me here alone?" he replied, hurt. I looked at him pained. His face broke my heart into pieces. **

"**Jase, it's not like that. I love you, Jase, but I can't do this to Mom anymore."**

"**Bells, I'll take care of you. I'll tell Mom to go with Phil and I'll take care of you. I've done it a lot of your life anyway. Who taught you to ride your bike? Who taught how to read and write? Who taught you how to defend yourself? Who taught you how to throw your first punch? Bells, I want you to stay here. Please don't leave. I'll have nothing here anymore. Who will stop me from getting into fights, Bells?" he replied, almost crying.**

"**It's not like you can't come with me, Jase. If you really want to stay with me, you'll come to live with me and Charlie."**

"**Bells, you know I can't do that. Charlie and I would end up killing each other and you know it. It wasn't just boredom that made you refuse staying in Forks in the summer. It was the fact that we fought and there was no escape from it because of the weather. In California, you could always get one of us out to do something outside because it was sunny more often than it was in Forks. Besides, after that last fight we had, I doubt he would even want to see me, let alone live with me. We can't live together. That's just the way it is, Bells. I can't just go there like you can. It's not that simple and you know that. So why are you leaving?" he yelled, raising his voice.**

"**Jase, I have to. Look I don't have anything here besides you and Mom. I just need to leave." I replied.**

"**So you are just going to abandon me?" he responded bitterly.**

"**I don't want to leave you and I'm not abandoning anyone. You are the one who won't put your issues aside so that we can stay together. It's not my fault here!" I yelled.**

"**Oh yeah, you are the one leaving to a place I refused out loud to ever go again and it's not your fault at all!" he replied.**

"**Why must you be so difficult?" I responded, angrily.**

"**Well, why don't you look in the mirror?" he spat. We glared at each other.**

"**You know for a split second, I actually felt bad about going but you know what? I don't feel bad anymore. I'm glad to go. It means I'll be away from you!" I yelled.**

"**Then go! I don't care anymore! But don't expect me to be here when you get hurt in Forks!"**

"**Fine!"**

"**Fine!" he yelled. I ran out slammed the door and then went into my room and did the same. I heard a knock on my door and saw Jase, still glaring at me. "I want my pictures back!" he yelled. I found the pictures he drew and did something I to this day regret, I threw them at his face, a couple of them tearing.**

"**Now get out! I hate you! Get out!" I yelled, hurt, and slammed the door in his face. That would be the last time I saw him human and from that moment on, I would regret everything I said, especially after I heard my brother went missing.**

"That was one of the hardest days in my life. I said some horrible things to him. I was so out of character that day. That wasn't me. I was just so hurt, so upset. Only Jase could ever make me feel that way. We didn't say anything to each other for weeks. The morning I left, he stayed in his bedroom and watched from his window as I left. He didn't even say goodbye. I didn't understand why I wanted him to be around so badly. We both hurt each other so deeply. I didn't understand it one bit but I knew I had to see him one last time so I dialed his number one day. He picked up the phone.

**I was nervous. I felt like I did the day that I told him I was moving away. I was questioning my decision again. Was he going to hang up or ignore me? I didn't know but something in me…something made me keep going. Something made me call him. I dialed the number before even knew I was doing it. I had just been thinking about it. I put the phone to my ear and heard the dial signaling a call going in. It rang four times before I heard a somewhat familiar voice answer the phone.**

"**Hello?" greeted the voice.**

"**Hi, Jase." I responded quietly and roughly. There was a silence on the other side. For a second I thought he hung up on me. He had obviously not looked at the caller ID on his phone. I was about to hang up the phone.**

"**Bells?" he asked just as quietly.**

"**Yeah, it's me…it's…Bella." I replied nervously.**

"**Well um…it's great to hear from you. I've um…gotten some messages from Charlie and Mom wondering where you were and telling me that you went missing. I um got a little worried about you."**

"**You did?" I asked with hope that he did care.**

"**Yeah, of course I did. I got really worried about you. You are my sister and…and my best friend. I'm sorry for that fight we had before you left. I didn't mean anything by it. I just…I didn't want you to leave. I was hurt and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have egged you on as much as I did. I really do regret it and I'm really sorry. It went too far." he responded. **

"**No, I shouldn't have fought with you either. I should have known that you would feel that way and let you vent at me rather than fighting with you. I'm just as responsible for the fight as you. I'm sorry too. And I don't hate you. I never have. I love you, Jase. I really do." **

"**I know. Everyone does." Jase replied. I laughed. There was the Jason humor I missed so much. "I missed that laugh. I missed you."**

"**I know. I missed you, too. I missed you a lot, especially now." I replied.**

"**I know, me too. Um, why'd you call me? Did you call me just to tell me you miss me?" he said. I could just see the smile on his face as he said that.**

"**Um…I just…I needed to talk to you, Jase. I…I want you here…I want to see you, Jase." I heard him sigh.**

"**Bells, I can't. I can't really tell you why right now but I can't. I'm sorry."**

"**I didn't expect you to drop what you were doing. I just wanted to tell you that…that I need you, Jase. I can't go through this alone. I need my big brother here…I've been through so much and I just…I want my brother here…please. I know I sound a little selfish but Jase, I need you here, really. Don't make me beg." I pleaded. There was a silence before I heard another sigh from him and he replied back.**

"**Where are you?" Jase asked, letting me know he's coming. I smiled and told him. I had a little excitement now. My brother was going to be here. I hadn't felt this happy in a long time.**

"The day Jase came, I was never so excited. John and Jake had no clue I had called him. He came into the house that day and John and Jake were so mad. See John separated from Jason and Anne a couple months before this happened. He let Anne and Jase have time alone. Anne told him that Jase wouldn't respond madly or anything like a normal newborn. He was ok and wasn't going to hurt anyone so while Jase was changing John left. He never knew what Jase looked like so when Jase came in both he and Jake attacked him. It wasn't until Anne came in they backed off. John had Jake back off when he realized that this was her Jase. Then Jase surprised everyone by running to me and hugging me. He realized then that I was pregnant and demanded an explanation so I told him everything. Jase was mad, very mad, he was furious. I calmed him down and asked him to tell me about what happened to him. He told me about how he met Anne and how she changed him and why. I was so glad to have him there with me. He told me he fell in love with her and I couldn't have been happier for him. I told him he didn't have to stay but he insisted. He wasn't going to let me go through this pregnancy by myself so he stayed. It made everything so much simpler.

"He and John discussed what would happen when I gave birth. We had been unsure of what to do. Anne couldn't see my future. She was worried just like the rest of them. It was only a couple days ago that Jake and Jase figured out what I needed. They were having a fight one day and Jake mentioned things about blood and so Jase figured out that that must have been what the baby needed. John went out and got the blood from a hospital (donated blood) and it worked. I was slowly feeling better but time kept coming closer to when the baby would be born. We were running out of time and John and Jase then agreed that if it came down to letting me die or changing me they would change me. They said it was both because they cared about what would happen to me and wouldn't take away a mother from a child. So when the time came for the baby to be born, things got complicated. They couldn't breathe. We didn't even realize that there were multiple babies but when the time came, Jase and John got them out. E.J was first, Nessie was second, and Emma was third. We were surprised to see three of them but didn't really have time to focus on that because I was getting closer and closer to death. John and Jase then worked together and gave me enough venom to change me.

"I woke up three days later and Jason and Anne were beside me. John was downstairs taking care of the babies. They explained some things to me and Jase took me on my first hunt. When we came back, I saw Jake was very protective of my baby. He was worried I'd hurt Nessie. I was happy about this at first until I realized he had imprinted on my baby! I was furious and attacked him. Seth was there holding Emma when I attacked and he handed her off to Anne and stepped in the way so I didn't hurt Jake. I ended up attacking Seth instead for a second before I realized what happened. I was furious at Jake, especially when he came up with the nickname Nessie.

"Eventually, the name grew on me and so did the two of them being together. I was glad it was him and not some jerk that she fell in love with. When she first stopped aging, I let her and Jake go on a date. It was around that time that E.J found Taylor. He met her after getting in a fight with Nessie and they talked a lot to a point where the two of them became an addiction to each other and fell in love. It then went from the three of them being inseparable to them kind of growing apart. Nessie got closer to Jake, E.J to Taylor, and Seth became really good friends with Emma. When Emma really needed a friend Seth was there. He had been there for her when she was little but it was even truer now. Nessie and E.J spent less time with her and she just wanted a friend to relate to for awhile and that was when Seth came along. The two of them get along so well. They are very amusing when they are together. He knows her so well. He knows how to calm her down. That was the reason she came back that one day. He was there and he talked her into coming back. He's good at it, better than I ever was. She was not easy to calm down, especially when it came to you, Edward.

"When they were kids they asked me about you and I told them what happened and E.J and Emma hated you more and more as time passed. I think part of them thought you abandoned them. Nessie never had the problem. I think part of it was because she knew you'd come back one day and another part was because she truly had nothing against you. She's an intuitive girl and I bet she knew why you did what you did without you even explaining it to her. Nessie was also the most forgiving of the three so when you came she forgave you easily. She loved you too much to hate you. She loved hearing the story about Edward and me. She said we had a fairy tale like romance no matter how bad it turned out in the end. She grew up feeling like she knew you. I loved the fact that one of the kids actually approved. But for a better explanation as to why E.J and Emma hate you, you need to talk to them.

"As for the current stuff, we met up with Angela and Ben about three years, a little bit after E.J met Taylor. He was already in love with her and wanted me to meet her and she wanted same with E.J so they agreed to get all together and introduce each other. They came to our place and saw me. They hugged me and we explained to everyone how we knew each other and we caught up with each other. They were both sympathetic toward what happened between me and Edward. They though understood. Ben I think knew why you did it too. He shared a theory on it just like Anne did. It would explain his lack of surprise when it was explained why you left. And a little bit ago, Jason asked Anne to marry him after getting irritated with John. He had been waiting for John's blessing but it never came so Jase decided he was going to do it without his blessing. I think it made John respect him a bit more but hate him more at the same time. It's a big brother thing I think. John's currently irritated at the wedding plans and such and Anne's been acting very strict about where to put things. There have been some names thrown around that I'm not going to mention. She's been kind of scary. I'm worried about when the wedding gets closer. She's going to be the true definition of a monster according to John." I heard a slap being made and an 'OW!' in response further away. "Anyways, now we've come full circle."


	14. Ch13: SelfPity and Edward's side

**AN:** **Hey all! Yes, it's finally finished! Sorry it's been so long! It's been hectic around here! It's getting closer to the holidays and all so here is a present to all of you readers for the holidays. This was hard to do. I had a writers block for a while and I hope it won't take so long to write again later. So sorry for keeping you all waiting. I would love to hear what you all think this chapter so please read and review! I really want to know what you all think about it! If you are a reader of my other story "What Happened in 1918?" I'm gonna try and update it in the coming weeks, hopefully very soon. I still have the poll up so if you want to vote this is your last chance because soon I'm going to start writing in winning response. Check out my poll please if you read the story because I may be able update sooner if I know your guys' opinions so please vote! If you don't, I'm just going to choose so...please let me know! I really do apologize for this being so late and hope you all forgive me for it. This chapter took forever. So if you have ideas please share them so this doesn't happen again! Read and Review! Happy Holidays!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters! Stephenie Meyer does!**

**Summary:** Set after Edward left in New Moon. Bella's life started to fall apart when he left but then some surprises come her way and practically takes away her life in Forks. Edward and his family come back a year later to find out Bella had died about two weeks after they left. Edward and his family are heartbroken until Jasper gets a call from an old friend asking him and his family to be a part of her wedding. Tensions rise and some angers are tested. Secrets and pasts are revealed and some relationships are tested. It's time to see what all of them are made of.

**Chapter Thirteen**

_Edward POV:_

When I heard about what happened to Bella in the years after I had been gone, I couldn't feel anything but guilt. I was a terrible person. Not only did I leave the love of my life but I left our children. Bella really needed me then and without John and Jason she would have died. John, Jason, and Jacob saved her life. Jacob brought her to John and John and Jason changed her. She went through everything alone. Then the dog imprinted on our baby girl and I couldn't be there to keep him away from her or calm Bella down the best I could. I just found out I had a daughter and now I find out she has a guy in love with her already, a guy she feels the same way about. This was a lot to take in. I'm glad though that she has someone, that I don't have to worry about her always being alone. I never realized how hard it is to be a father. You worry about her being alone yet you don't want her with anyone either. I was though happy that E.J had fallen in love with someone. She seemed like a great girl when I talked to her and she really seemed to know him. From what Nessie has told me, she makes him easier to be around. He's, as she says, a lot less of a party pooper than Emma is.

Emma being alone was a bit concerning. It's always concerning when they are alone and I worried about her not finding someone. She looked like I had before Bella. That did worry me. I didn't want that for her. She deserved better. She is better than that. I love her and I just want her to be one hundred percent happy. I see the way she gazes at her sister and Jacob and how she looks at me and Bella. It's the same way I tended to when I was alone. We are more alike than even she knows. I don't want her to feel that way. She deserves better than that. Emma is better than that. She deserves all the happiness in the world and I know one day she'll get it.

I looked at Bella, speechless. I didn't know what to say. Sorry wasn't going to be enough no matter how many times I said it. I didn't know what I was going to do but I was going to make it up to her, no matter what. I love Bella and I'm going to do whatever it takes to show her that and to make up for what I had done. I saw my family look at her apologetically and also unsure of what to say. Bella looked at us expectantly.

"Bella, I am so sorry." I said again making this the hundredth time I said it. She smiled and put her hand to my cheek.

"Edward, it is ok. I'm not upset anymore. I really do understand." she replied.

"Bella, I will make this up to you. I don't know how but I am going to make this up to you."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes I do. I left you, alone and broken. Then you had kids, my kids, and you needed me and I wasn't there. They needed me and I wasn't there. I'm not going to make that mistake again. I will make this up to. I have to. I don't care what it takes but I will make this up to you." I responded firmly. In the corner of my eye I saw Alice grinning.

"As long as what you do doesn't mean spending a ton of money on me. I don't want you spending a lot of money on me. You have already done that enough when we were dating before. I mean it. No spending massive amounts of money." She replied, her eyes narrowing on me. She knew I would want to spend money on her but that's not something I had intended on doing to make it up to her. I could do better than that. Maybe I could talk to Emma and Nessie about what I should do. "Edward?" I heard her say. I looked at her. "Do you promise?"

"Promise what?" I asked.

"That you won't spend a lot of money on me." she answered. I took her hand in mine and smiled her favorite smile.

"I promise, love." I said. We gazed into each others eyes before hearing an annoying voice speak to us.

"Yeah, yeah. You guys are cute. Can we go play baseball again?" said my annoying brother, Emmett. I hate that guy sometimes. He's such an idiot sometimes and also inappropriate with his stupid innuedos. I glared at him. He was unaffected by this because he just kept smiling at me and looked at me with an eyebrow raised. '_You gonna fight me, Eddie?'_, He thought to me, flexing his muscles.

"Emmett, I could take you down quicker than you think." I stated. He looked at me astonished.

"You think you can take me? You may be faster but I'm both stronger and smarter...and better looking but that's beside the point." he replied. I looked at him calculating before shaking my head.

"Nah, you are going to lose. And you are smarter than me? Emmett, what's the square root of 1?" I asked. He looked down for a minute and counted with his fingers. Wow this is a lot of work for a simple math problem, even for Emmett. He did this for a few minutes before throwing his hands in the air.

"You know I'm not good at science." He replied.

"It's not a science problem, Em. It's a simple math problem. This isn't brain surgery." I explained.

"Maybe not to you but it is to the rest of the world. Right Rosie?" he asked, turning to Rosalie. She looked at him apologetically.

"Sorry, babe, but it is really easy."

"No it's not. It's as hard as adding 90 million to 10 million." he argued. She looked at him scared for him and trying not to offend him.

"Honey, that's easy too. It's 100 million." she replied.

"Well well well aren't you smart? You're as smart as a rocket scientist." he said sarcastically. Rose glared at him. She didn't like his tone. He cowered under her glare. "I'm sorry. You really are a smart one." he revised. She kissed him on the cheek.

"Good. Now I want to talk to Bella." she replied, smiling at Bella.

"You want to talk to me?" Bella responded, surprised. Rosalie nodded. Bella looked at me and I nodded, telling her it was alright. Bella and Rosalie then walked outside. I saw my family look at me sympatheticly, knowing I was hating myself for what I had done all those years ago.

"Edward, you really do need to forgive yourself for what happened after Bella's party. You were trying to protect her. Everyone gets that. She gets that. She forgave you. You have to forgive yourself." said Alice. The others nodded in agreement.

"Not everyone." I replied. My family looked at me confused.

"Not everyone what?" asked Esme.

"Not everyone gets that. E.J doesn't get that." I answered.

"Don't worry about E.J." said Emmalie. We all turned and noticed her leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. She smiled and came over to me and sat down beside me. "E.J's just being stubborn. He really will come around. You just have to have patience and wait. Mom always says that he is just as stubborn as you are. He will give up this whole 'I hate my dad' phase when he spends more time with you and he won't do that until he's ready. Just wait. He will like you and will understand why you did what you did. He just needs time. Just like I did" she explained softly, placing her hand on mine and showing me her smile that mirrored mine.

"Are you saying you believe me?" I asked hopefully.

"I'm saying that I'm ready to listen to your side of the story." she said, starting to walk out. I didn't move, shocked. She turned her head toward me. "Are you coming?" she asked. I snapped out of my shock and got up and walked out with her, anxious. This was the moment I have been waiting for since I first knew about her existence. Hopefully she would understand. Hopefully she won't hate me. Hopefully, everything will go well.

_Jase POV:_

I walked into the forest for the hundredth time since Edward and his family came here. I was thinking about things a lot more since then. This time it wasn't about something they did but something I did. Hearing Bella's story wasn't hard until she talked about what had happened between us before she left Phoenix and moved to Forks. That time period put a real struggle in our relationship. For a while I had hated her for leaving. Now I feel like a bad person for hating my sister because she wanted to live with Charlie.

Bella and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. We both tease each other incessantly but we are still friends. I've also always been highly protective of her. She is my baby sister and I always took it upon myself to take care of her, to protect her. We always got along really well. I could talk to her about anything and she could do the same with me. Our whole lives we were best friends. We never really fought. We didn't have huge blowouts until that day. That day we had the biggest blowout. That day I lost time with my sister.

When Bella told me she was leaving, I wanted to believe she was joking. I wanted her to tell me that she wasn't serious but I realized by her facial expressions that she wasn't. I felt a little betrayed then. I never thought of how Bella felt. She wanted to not cause Mom to choose between her and Phil. I understood that. I just felt like she should have stayed with me. I felt that we should stay together until one of us goes to college. One of my worries was something everyone else would think is stupid. I wanted to protect her in high school. I wanted to protect her there and at home. I couldn't be there though since Charlie was there.

Charlie and I have never gotten along. He and I argued a lot. Part of it was because I complained a bit but besides that he argued with me about my future. He didn't like the idea of me taking off for a year to go to Europe or taking a road trip around the United States during that year. I wanted to just take a break and if I went on a road trip take Bella around with me for the summer because I knew she'd want to go to college. But he hated that plan. He demanded I go to college. Then there was a matter of opinions and how he told me when I was in a bad relationship. Like I don't know when I'm in a bad relationship! I'll break up the relationship if it's bad! I'm not stupid despite what everyone in the world thinks! I may not be the sharpest tool in the box but I'm at least smart enough to know what's bad and what's good! I know what's good for me! No one should tell me what to do and what's good for me! I know he means well but that doesn't mean he can interfere with every matter of my life! ARGH! Charlie just drives me insane sometimes! Hence why we can't be in the same house! We'd kill each other! We are at each other's throats all the time and it just gets annoying!

But even through all those things, I still think of him as my dad. I just have a hard time with him and then there's the fact he and Mom split when I was just a kid. I did feel sorry that Charlie and I couldn't have a good relationship but we had nothing in common. I needed someone I could relate to. I always wanted to mend my problems with Charlie but it never happened. Anytime I tried we'd fight anyway.

Our last fight was a huge blowout. At first it started off as a fight over my future. Then it turned into a fight about me getting into trouble at school for fighting. To be fair, I was protecting Bella's honor. Charlie thought I just wanted to fight since I didn't tell him what the creep said about Bella. If Charlie knew what he said, he'd have the jerk locked up and would have thrown away the key. That idea didn't seem to bother me but I thought that would cause trouble for Charlie and Bella'd probably find out and I didn't want that. Then the argument moved to my girlfriend who I thought I was in love with at the time, before I'd known what love truly was. The fight ended when I'd said the worst thing possible: I'd blamed him for my mother leaving him.

I couldn't face Charlie after that. It was the worst thing I could have said to him. How could I do that to him? I'm his son. I shouldn't ever say anything like that to him. It is an awful thing to do. I didn't really ever forgive myself for that. That day I left because I knew I had upset him. I couldn't stand to see his face after what I had said. I knew I broke him. Since then I never said a word to him or saw him ever again. I regret that every single day since I had said it. I wish I could have been there for Bella in Forks. I wish I could talk to Charlie and laugh with him like I used to as a little kid. I wish things could have been better then and that Bella and I could have been closer after our fight. I wished I could be closer with Charlie but I know now that it's too late. I can't exactly be close with him after becoming a vampire. Any shot I had at having a real relationship is now nonexistent and I will regret not having a real relationship with him forever.

I leaned my head against a tree and listened to the birds chirping. It was kind of annoying but it was better than hearing how awful of a brother I was to abandon my sister because I was selfish. I should have stayed with her regardless of my problems with Charlie. I could have protected her more in Forks. It might have been better if I were there. I could have helped her more and made her happier just by being there. I sighed.

"I'm a terrible brother." I said to myself, closing my eyes.

"You're not so bad." said a familiar voice. I opened my eyes and saw Bella standing between two trees, smiling.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were talking with Rosalie." I said, leaning back and closing my eyes again.

"I was. We are done talking. She just wanted to tell me her history." she replied. She came over and sat next to me

"And?" I asked with my eyes still closed.

"It's terrible. It's an awful experience no one should go through. I don't really blame her for being upset with me after what she went through." she summarized. I understand her not sharing. It wasn't her story to share. If Rosalie wanted me to know, she would have told me. I accepted her explanation. We were both silent for a while. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh you know, acting like Edward. I'm wallowing in self-pity." I responded dryly.

"Why are you wallowing in self-pity?" she asked me gently. I was hesitant to tell her. I didn't want her to know how upset this made me. I let out a breath before answering.

"I'm your big brother. I was supposed to be there for you as much as I could. But I wasn't there when you left and you needed me there and I stayed when I should have gone with you. I was the one that abandoned you. Not the other way around. I have a hard time forgiving myself for doing that." I admitted.

"You really do sound like Edward. Look, Jason, you are my best friend and my brother. I'm not mad at you for what happened. It was just as much my fault as it was yours. It's normal for brothers and sisters to fight so shut up and deal with it!" countered Bella. I was shocked. She's not usually like that.

"Bella! You don't usually say something like that. What gives?"

"I'm tired of listening to everyone complaining like that. I'm done telling everyone I forgive them because everytime I do I end up having to repeat it later. I'm done! I'm sick of it so suck it up! You're my brother. I love you but you get on my nerves and if you don't suck it up soon I'm not going to forgive you!" she replied angrily. I was once again shocked by what had happened and proud at the same time.

"Alright, I'll suck it up. You know what? Oddly enough, you yelling at me made me feel better and you also made me very proud. You have never really said something like that to me before. I'm proud of you for that." I responded. She smiled.

"Well I learned how to be more open after spending time in Forks. Edward and the rest of the Cullens bring out this side of me that no one really knows and I was too afraid to let out. I'm learning to be myself and be more outgoing. Maybe being away from you, although it was hard and I missed you a lot, wasn't so bad for us. After all, I never would have been as close to the Cullens had I not been alone. And you...you never would have met Anne. Jase, it wasn't a bad thing for us. It was a good thing. Don't sulk. It worked out well for both of us." she replied. I nodded. I hadn't ever thought of that. I can't even think of how life would be like for me without Anne. She's right.

"You're right. I shouldn't sulk. I can't even imagine life without Anne and besides it's in the past. I'm going to focus on the present." She nodded sharply, approving. I smiled. "Yeah so how's that present going, Bell? Are you getting me a new car?" She rolled her eyes.

"Oh you are going to focus on THAT present? Well this is what I'm going to get you..." she said leaning into my ear. "I'm not telling you." she whispered. Dang!

"You suck, Bells!" I yelled. She laughed.

"Oh do I? Maybe I won't get you a present then."

"NO! You have to I'm your brother. Please! Pretty PLEASE!" I begged. She chuckled again.

"I wasn't serious, Jase. Of course I was going to get you a present." she replied. I gave her hug, excited.

"Thank you, Bellsy! I Love YOU!" I yelled. She laughed. "Let's go! I want to go play Guitar Hero with you!"

"Why? You know I'm going to cream you!" she declared. I scoffed.

"Yeah right! I'm going to win! I'm older therefore I shall always win!" I commented. She laughed again.

"Then why did I win last week?" she asked, smirking. I glared.

"I let you win, Bellsy! But not this time! I'm going to win and you are going to lose!"

"We shall see."

"Race you back to the house?" I asked. She nodded.

"Of course!" she replied, running instantly.

"Hey that's cheating!" I yelled before taking off after her. Everything was now back to normal. I was not worried anymore. Bella always made me feel better. I wasn't going to act like that again, hopefully. I'm going to beat Bella back! I have to!

_Emmalie POV:_

I walked out the door with Edward slowly walking behind me. I was ready for this. I had been waiting for Aunt Rose to decide to tell Mom her story soon. I knew that she was going to tell her it today. Nessie had warned me ahead of time. I was a little nervous to hear the story that my father had to tell me. I didn't know if it was truly for a good reason that he left my mom. I obviously though wasn't going to show him that.

I led him to the spot I usually sat at to think. It was near the water. The same place where Seth and I had talked after I found out my father was here. It was my favorite spot. I loved to hear the trickling of water. It was a perfect place to think. I sat down on a large rock and then Edward sat next to me. We were both silent for a while.

"So we are here. What's your side of the story?" I asked, tired of the silence.

"I left to protect you mother. I know that that sounds so ridiculous but it's true. I grew up believing in God and heaven. Well I believed at one point, I'm reconsidering it now, that vampires are souless monsters. I believed vampires didn't belong in heaven when they died or whatever it is we do. I spent my whole existence as a vampire loathing myself. I didn't think I had a soul. That was until I had met Bella.

"Bella at first was just a mere human. I didn't think of her as significant. But I realized that her blood had tempted me more than anyone else's. It was hard to resist. I hated her for it. It fueled the monster inside me. I was hungry for her blood. She was nothing to me than a being created to torture me. I wanted to kill her and to keep myself from hurting her I left to Alaska to get away from her. After a while I realized that she was nothing but an insignificant human but that was far from the truth.

"When I came back I actually talked to her. She was an impressive human. She was selfless, kind, caring. She was incredible. I was impressed by her. I liked her. I didn't even realize how much I liked her until I saw a van nearly crush her. I saved her before it could kill her. I couldn't see her get hurt. My family with the exception of Alice, Carlisle, and Esme were a little mad at me for saving her. Rosalie was the worst. I waited for her to say something about what she had seen and she said nothing to anyone. It surprised me. I tried to ignore her but couldn't. I was attracted to her.

"It was hard for me. I was torn. One part of me told me to stay away and to push her way. But the other part begged to keep her with me. In the end the attraction won. I kept saving her when she needed saving. She even found out what I was. It wasn't until quite a while later before I said I loved her. After that I had stayed with her and introduced her to my family. It had all been going great until we ran into three other vampires, nomads.

"They fed on human blood. We tried to mask her scent and pretend that she was one of us but one caught the scent and tried to hunt her. I hated him. I couldn't let him do it. I loved her and I could never let him hurt her. He did end up getting to her and she got hurt. I never forgave myself for that. She got hurt because of me and my world. It scared me to death. That had been what I feared would happen. I didn't want her to get hurt and she did. It made me very careful around her, more cautious. I was so cautious of other threats that I hadn't realized my family was a threat to her.

"On her birthday my family accidently attacked her. The bloodlust was strong and I couldn't handle it after that. I feared for her. I couldn't even let her be around my family without her getting hurt. It hit me that day that the only way I could protect her was to leave, seeing as I wasn't going to change her. I left her so that she wouldn't ever accidently get hurt by me and my family. I was trying to protect her from us. I guess I didn't really protect her. It didn't stop her from becoming a vampire." Edward explained. I was a little touched but also a little confused.

"Why would you want to stop my mom from becoming a vampire?" I questioned.

"I told you about me believing vampires are souless, right?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, I didn't want that for Bella. I thought she deserved better than that. I wanted her to have a human life. I wanted her live her life. She could have a child as a human. I wanted that for her. I wanted the world for her. What was I supposed to do when I believed that vampires are souless? Could I take away her soul? I loved her and I could never do that to her. I could never turn her into a monster like me." he replied. I understood him better now. I could finally see what my mom saw in him. He was easier to like now. I could actually see him as my father now. I sighed, needing him to understand something.

"You need to know that you are not a monster. You are a good man. You were trying to protect my mom. I understand that now. And that's not something a monster would do. You are not a monster and you need to believe that if you want me to accept you as my father." I replied. He smiled.

"Thank you and I'm actually starting to believe that now. I've heard a lot of people yell at me about that. It's starting to sink in. I told you I was reconsidering my stance on vampires and souls. It's true and I am starting to believe it." he responded.

"Good because if you don't, you'd better start,...Dad." I said, smiling at him. He grinned at me. I got up and hesitantly gave him a hug before walking away. When I walked away, I saw a familiar face who seemed to be watching us from a distance.

**AN: Anyone know who that is?**


	15. Ch14: Hate, Kisses, and Imprints

**New AN (IMPORTANT!): THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE STORY! I PROMISE THERE WILL BE MORE IT JUST MIGHT TAKE A LOT OF TIME TO WRITE NEXT CHAPTER! I PROMISE! I WAS JUST SAYING THE CHAPTER IS FINALLY FINISHED! THIS IS ADDED BECAUSE SOMEONE ASKED IF IT WAS OVER AND IT'S NOT SO I'M JUST MAKING SURE NO ONE ELSE FEELS THAT WAY SO...AND I KNOW THIS CHAPTER KIND OF ISN'T SHOWING MUCH EDWARD AND BELLA BUT I PROMISE THAT IT SOON WILL! I JUST WANTED TO ESTABLISH HOW THINGS WERE BETWEEN EMMALIE AND SETH! EDWARD AND BELLA WILL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR SURE AND EVEN MORE IN THE NEXT FEW SO BEAR WITH ME HERE! THANK YOU FOR READING THIS! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**AN:** **Hey all! Yes, it's finally finished! Sorry it's been so long! It's been hectic around here! It's getting closer to the holidays and all so here is a present to all of you readers for the holidays. This was hard to do. I had an outline for the chapter but it took a long time to word it and it was going to be completely different before but suddenly changed when I was writing it so it screwed up my plan a bit. So sorry for keeping you all waiting. I would love to hear what you all think this chapter so please read and review! I really want to know what you all think about it! I really do apologize for this being so late and hope you all forgive me for it. This chapter took forever. So if you have ideas please share them so this doesn't happen again! Read and Review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters! Stephenie Meyer does!**

**Summary:** Set after Edward left in New Moon. Bella's life started to fall apart when he left but then some surprises come her way and practically takes away her life in Forks. Edward and his family come back a year later to find out Bella had died about two weeks after they left. Edward and his family are heartbroken until Jasper gets a call from an old friend asking him and his family to be a part of her wedding. Tensions rise and some angers are tested. Secrets and pasts are revealed and some relationships are tested. It's time to see what all of them are made of.

**Chapter Fourteen**

_Emmalie POV:_

As I saw his face, I stopped. He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to hear this right now, at least not in this way. His face was expressionless. He made it seem like the whole conversation made no difference to him. I walked closer to him. His green eyes were emotionless but I knew better to believe he felt nothing. With my ability, I felt his hidden anger. I sent calming waves out to him and felt his anger lessen each minute. I looked at him innocently, trying to keep his anger at me from resurfacing.

"Hey, you." I greeted, sending him a smile. He continued to look at me with the same expression.

"Hey." He replied.

"What are you doing here?" I asked carefully. I was a little scared of him. He's a very frightening person to be around when he's angry but he's even more frightening when he's calm. Yes I know, a lot of the calm feelings came from me but I stopped sending him the constant waves I usually needed to keep sending to him to keep him in that mood. This calm demeanor was one of his own and when he started that way, it was only a matter of time before the _lovely_ boy exploded and that is always the scariest part.

"I came here looking for you. Mom is setting up another baseball game. Apparently Emmett wants to play again."

"Seriously?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"Well, alright then. Let me just go and tell Dad." I replied, quickly trying to leave and not quite realizing what I had just said.

"Oh, so he's 'Dad' now?" he asked angrily. The calmness I had felt to him vanished and his anger rose higher than it had been. This was what I was afraid of. E.J's a good person but anyone who is on the receiving end of his anger never benefits from it. I tried to send calming waves toward him even though I knew it was useless. He was too wound up.

"E.J-" I started, trying to get him to understand before he interrupted me.

"Let me get this straight. You have one talk with the man and then suddenly he's 'Dad'?" E.J almost yelled.

"E.J-" I tried again.

"Must have been some talk" he spat.

"E.J! He isn't the guy you think he is. You think he's a guy who doesn't care about us or Mom but I know different. He told me what happened. You have to listen to him, E.J." I insisted, still trying to calm him down.

"Yeah. I did and it was a bunch of crap. He doesn't care, Em. He never has. Why do you and Ness insist on believing he does? If he cared he wouldn't have left Mom in the first place." He yelled frustrated. "Yeah I'm frustrated! I had to keep telling Ness this and she didn't believe me but I know she's not going to change her mind but you…I never thought I would have to worry about you. You hated him just as much as I do. Why did you have to change your mind? Why do you have to believe him?"

"If you had listened to him you would understand." I replied angrily. I was starting to get frustrated. He started to argue but I stopped him. "I know you heard him but you didn't _listen_. There is a difference between hearing something and actually listening to what someone says! It is extremely obvious that you didn't listen to what he said. He was trying to-"

"Protect her. Yeah that's what he said but I know better. How would that protect her? It doesn't and it's obvious that he didn't do a good job of it." E.J responded. I sighed.

"E.J, please, just give him a chance. I have." I pleaded.

"When pigs fly, Em." He spat before stalking away still furious. I looked at the tree I was standing next to and kicked it, causing a crack in the tree. I was annoyed. I hate him so much sometimes. I shook my head and started punching the same tree I kicked. My hands were red and slightly battered by the time I was pulled away. I turned my head and saw a face I had never been so happy to see.

Seth looked at me concerned. I looked at him, my anger slowly dying down the more I gazed into his perfect eyes. I eventually closed my eyes and took a deep breath in order to calm myself down. I felt Seth's hands on my back, rubbing circles into it. That motion always helped me relax. I opened my eyes and looked at him, no longer upset and sent him a small smile. Neither one of us said a thing. I looked down at my hands. They had been hurting for the last few minutes. Seth's eyes followed mine. He took the palms of my hands into his, examining them. He looked into my eyes and smiled before kissing each red spot on my hands. It made me smile. I felt like a little kid again.

When I was a child, Seth was, like now, my best friend. He took care of me when no one else could. I would sometimes end up hurting myself playing around with E.J and Nessie and then Seth would be there when I'd start crying. He kissed every injury like Mom had when I was around her. It was a different time then. This was before things between us got complicated, not that he probably noticed.

It was mainly my problem. I was in love with him now and to him I was just his best friend, a girl he helped take care of when she was younger. I knew it would never be more than that. It just broke my heart. Every time I look at him, I want to be with him. Moments like this…where he kissed me even if it probably meant nothing to him…they meant everything to me. It had meant that he was there and he cared about me. I only wish it meant more.

"What's the matter, babe?" he asked softly, his hands still holding mine.

"It's E.J. He's so….so….frustrating! I hate him! Why does he have to be so freaking STUBBORN! Doesn't he have anything better to do than to make me feel sorry about doing what everyone has been dying for me to? Everyone's been dying for me to give Edward a chance and I did and then E.J sees and has to go off on me! Why can't I catch a break and why can't he be happy for me or at least not make me feel stupid for giving Edward a chance? He's stubborn and idiotic and I HATE HIM!" I yelled before leaning my head on Seth's shoulders. My little tirade was very exhausting.

"You don't hate him." Seth responded. I looked at him and glared.

"Yes I do and don't tell me how I feel about my brother."

"Em, I have known you almost your whole life and I know you could never hate your brother. He irritates you, constantly gets under your skin, but you could never hate him. You love him too much to hate him. He's your brother and you love him. So don't lie to me and tell me you hate him."

"Yes I do." I said sadly, not looking at Seth. Seth put his finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"What's really going on, Em? E.J always frustrates you but you've never really said you hated him. He's not the only thing that's bothering you. What is it?"

"It's nothing. It's just…I…I don't know."

"You're just frustrated?" he guessed. I nodded.

"Yeah."

"And it's not just E.J?" he guessed again, once again correct. I nodded again. "Is it Edward?" I hesitated before nodding again.

"It's hard for me, Seth. I mean one day it's just me, Mom, E.J, and Nessie. Then all of the sudden Edward turns up and I'm supposed to love him and accept him into the family. It's not as easy as everyone thinks. I'm not some switch to turn on and off. I can't just change my feelings in the blink of an eye. I understand now why he did what he did and I want to accept him. I just need some time to get used to all this." I explained.

"Does that mean you are going to need time alone? I can go if you want." I shook my head.

"No. You don't need to leave."

"The question is not whether or not I need to leave. It's whether or not you want me to leave." He replied softly. I put my hand to his cheek and sent him a small, reassuring smile.

"I don't want you to leave. I like having you near me." I confessed. He grinned.

"That's because I'm awesome." declared Seth. I laughed.

"Oh really? Who says?"

"Me."

"I don't think your opinion counts for very much, sweetheart." I countered, laughing silently.

"I don't know. I think my opinion counts for more than anyone's, babe. And besides, you have to admit I'm pretty awesome." He responded. I looked at him calculatingly before shrugging.

"You are alright." I replied. He looked at me like he was offended. He put his hand over his heart.

"Only alright? Is that really what you think of me? After all the time we have spent together as friends, I'm only alright?" he asked. I looked like I was actually thinking about it, which of course I wasn't. I then nodded.

"Yep." I answered. He glared at me for a second before grinning a minute later. Before I knew what he was going to do he pounced on top of me, causing me to crash to the floor and unto my back. He took his hands and started to tickle me in my vulnerable spots. I couldn't stop laughing and I could feel the amusement from Seth.

"Seth, stop." I said in between laughs.

"Not until you tell me I'm awesome."

"NEVER!" I yelled. He kept on tickling me.

"Tell me I'm awesome." He repeated. I shook my head, trying to prevent myself from laughing. "Tell me…I'm awesome." He repeated again. I then decided I couldn't handle it anymore and caved.

"Alright…Alright! You are…awesome! Now stop tickling me!" I yelled. He finally stopped before grinning.

"About time, babe. Told you I was awesome." he replied.

"Yes, you are so very awesome." I said sarcastically.

"I know." He said grinning. I laughed and looked into his eyes. He and I could have been in that position for hours for all I knew. He was still lying on top of me, each arm on one side of me. Seth was looking into my eyes just as I was looking at his. I almost thought I caught a glimpse of love in it but I couldn't be sure. I have been wrong before.

I still remembered when I had a situation similar to the one I have now. The only difference is that back then I didn't know any better. I was in love with a vampire and I had once thought he loved me. I soon realized that that was not the case. The way it was broken off between the two of us was brutal for me.

**I was excited to see my boyfriend, Daniel, today. I loved Daniel. He was a cute, sweet guy and he understood me. It helped me even more that he was not human. He was a vampire. He understood some of the issues I have with being part vampire. It was a perfect match. He was perfect for me. Things were just perfect…or so I thought.**

**I was cooking in the kitchen when I had heard the doorbell ring. I walked out of the kitchen and opened the door. To my surprise, Daniel was behind the door. I hadn't been expecting him so early. It was barely noon and he wasn't supposed to come by until seven o'clock tonight. I hugged him, happy to see him. I felt him awkwardly hug me back. I was concerned with the awkwardness and looked into his eyes to see guilt and sadness.**

**"What's wrong, Daniel?" I asked worried. He sighed running his hand through his blonde hair. **

**"Can I talk to you outside, Emmalie?" he responded. I nodded, confused. He didn't normally call me 'Emmalie'. He normally called me 'Em' or 'Emma' or even just 'E'. He was starting to worry me. He and I walked into the woods. He stopped in the middle of the woods before he turned in my direction but not looking at me in the eyes. I put my hands on his face and turned his to mine to make him look at me in the eyes.**

**"What is the matter, Daniel?" I asked softly. He looked at me guiltily.**

**"I'm so sorry, Emma." he stated. I looked at him confused.**

**"What are you sorry for?"**

**"I'm sorry because…I…we…we can't be…together anymore, Emmalie. I have to end it. I should have ended it a long time ago and I shouldn't have let it go on for as long as it had and for that I'm sorry." He explained. I stood there shocked and sad. He was…breaking up with me?**

**"What do you mean?" I asked in a small voice.**

**"We can't be together anymore."**

**"Why not?" I asked, holding back tears.**

**"Because…I…I met another girl. She understands me, Emma. She understands me in a way no one else does. I can't be away from her. I love everything about this girl. I can tell that she's my mate. I have never felt this way about anyone before. Please…you have to understand. I'm sorry but I can't be with you because I'm in love with her. It wouldn't be fair. I'm sorry." He explained to me. My heart broke with every word he said. "I hope you can forgive me." He replied, trying to get close to me and comfort me but I put my hand out to stop him from coming any closer. "I really am sorry, Emma."**

**"I know you are but it would be best if we don't see each other anymore at all and if you would just leave and never come back." I replied coldly. I was overwhelmed with hurt but the furious side of me took over. He flinched at my tone before nodding and running as fast as he could away from me. He knew better than to stand there much longer. I would have attacked him for this and he knew that. He was smart.**

**As soon as he left, my enflaming anger subsided and I felt the agony in my heart swell more and more. As each second passed, I felt the hurt expand until I reached my breaking point. After a minute, I was down on the ground, sobbing incessantly. It wasn't until a few hours later that familiar arms wrapped around me and pulled me closer to their owner's chest. The scent was comforting for me. I felt at home with his sweet scent. It was my small glimmer of light in my dark depression.**

For several weeks I thought of nothing but pain. He had hurt me beyond belief. I was not surprised by how much it had hurt. I had been in love with him, or at least I thought I had been. It was after that that I swore off men completely, with the exceptions of my family and Seth. My family tried to help and they helped ease my pain slightly but only Seth could make me smile during that time. It was only after this that I realized how much I really cared about Seth and how much he meant to me. It was a week after my depression that I had realized that I was in love with Seth.

As I gazed into his eyes, I searched to find that one emotion I had been hoping for and some way to prove it really existed and wasn't some figment of my imagination. I found nothing to prove it but certainly found some strong emotion in his eyes. I wanted to tell him how I felt.

"Seth?"

"Yeah?" he replied.

"I…I…I really appreciate you being around. I really just want to um…thank you for always being here for me. You have been here every time you needed me and I just want to thank you for being here. You have…been my friend for a very long time." I answered, chickening out from telling him that I love him. I saw his eyes flash in disappointment slightly before replying.

"Anytime, Em." He answered.

We gazed into each other's eyes before his lips moved closer to mine before finally…they touched mine. I felt his soft lips against mine and…it turned out to be one of the best kisses I have ever had. There was passion and fireworks, something I had never felt before with anyone else. After a minute, we both pulled away. We looked at each other, shocked and confused. What did this mean? Why did this happen?

Seth finally got off of me and we both stood up, staring at each other again. Seth was about to say something when we heard steps approach us from a distance. As the sounds got closer and the figure got clearer, the both of us saw Jacob appear in the area. Jacob looked at the two of us a little confused by the obvious awkwardness between us and looked at Seth questioningly. Seth shook his head. Jake sighed before looking at me.

"Your mother wants to talk to you, Emma." He informed me. I nodded, leaving without a word but thinking completely about Seth and our unexpected kiss.

_Seth POV:_

I couldn't believe what had just happened between me and Emmalie. What was happening? What did it mean when she and I kissed? I didn't understand. Did she have feelings for me? I don't understand this. I mean…one minute we are teasing each other like we always had and then…the next we were kissing each other. I don't know what happened between us. Was there something between us?

Jake was staring at me as I kept thinking about mine and Emma's kiss. He seemed to notice something was going on. He clapped a hand on my shoulder, bringing me back to reality. I looked at him and saw the concern on his face. He was a little worried about me.

"Are you ok, Seth?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…it's been an interesting day." I answered. That was the understatement of the century.

"What happened?" he asked, suspicious. I shrugged, trying to pass it off as nothing.

"Nothing. It's fine. It's just been a long day." I answered back. He nodded, dropping the subject. We were both silent for a minute before I got the courage up to ask Jake the question I have been dying to ask him for several years now. "Jake…what is it like to imprint?" I asked. He was surprised by this sudden question but answered, smiling.

"It is just like the stories. It's an incredible feeling, believe me. I have never been happier since I imprinted on Nessie." He explained, plainly. I knew all this. Then, I asked the question I had really wanted to ask.

"Jake…can you imprint and not ever get together with that imprint?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I guess it's possible. It depends on the imprint, I guess. If they are ready for a real relationship, I think that's when it usually happens. Remember Quil and Claire? Claire was very little when he imprinted on her and until she got older and ready for a relationship he was just taking care of her and being what she needed…a best friend. We try to be what our imprint needs at the moment. I was never truly in love with Nessie until she got older, when she needed me to be that way. I guess if the imprint isn't ever ready for relationship, it could happen but it's highly unlikely."

"Oh ok. Thanks, Jake." He nodded.

"You're welcome. Now I have a question for you." Jake replied. I looked at him expectantly.

"Ok, what is it?" I asked.

"Does this talk about imprints have anything to do with Emmalie?" he asked, surprising me into silence.


	16. Ch15: Confessions, Pics, and School

**AN:** **Hey all! Yes, the chapter's finally finished! Sorry it's been so long! It's been hectic around here and I haven't been able to find inspiration or the right words to write out! This was hard to do. I had an outline for the chapter but it took a long time to word it and then I lost it so planning the chapter out in my head was taking forever. So sorry for keeping you all waiting. I would love to hear what you all think this chapter so please read and review! I really want to know what you all think about it! I really do apologize for this being so late and hope you all forgive me for it. This chapter has been worked on for the last few days. So if you have ideas please share them so this doesn't happen again! Read and Review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters! Stephenie Meyer does!**

**Summary:** Set after Edward left in New Moon. Bella's life started to fall apart when he left but then some surprises come her way and practically takes away her life in Forks. Edward and his family come back a year later to find out Bella had died about two weeks after they left. Edward and his family are heartbroken until Jasper gets a call from an old friend asking him and his family to be a part of her wedding. Tensions rise and some angers are tested. Secrets and pasts are revealed and some relationships are tested. It's time to see what all of them are made of.

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Seth POV:_

I was awestruck. He thought my series of questions had to do with Emmalie? How...how did he know? I never hinted at it. I don't remember ever saying anything to him about liking Emma. Did he see what had happened between us? I don't understand and what do I do? Do I deny it? Should I be honest about it? Should I lie? What should I do? Jake wasn't supposed to find out. This was supposed to be between me and...me. I was the only one who was supposed to know about my feelings for her. How'd he find out? Would he tell Bella? If Bella found out she would kill me. I mean she tried to kill Jake. If I hadn't pulled her away, Jake probably would have been dead. Bella honestly frightens me a little so what should I do?

I stared at Jake, still in awe. Was I that obvious? He stared back at me not betraying any emotion except patience. We both stared at each other for several minutes, both waiting for me to respond to his question. It was then that I heard myself answer the question.

"How did you know?" I asked him, quietly. He kept his stare before sending a smile.

"It's kind of obvious, especially since I used to be where you were. The only difference is that I acted on the new feelings and that everyone already knew that I imprinted on Nessie. You are doing good at hiding that fact. It wasn't until you brought this up that I even guessed that you imprinted on her."

"You weren't supposed to know. I was hoping that I wasn't so obvious."

"Why did you keep it a secret? Why didn't you tell me or any of the pack? Even if you didn't want to tell the others like E.J or Ness or Bells, why couldn't you trust us with this? We all would have understood. We've all been there, Seth. We've all imprinted on someone. Why would it have been so bad to tell us?" Jake asked. I hesitated before answering.

"I was scared." I admitted. He looked at me confused.

"What was there to be scared of?" he asked.

"A couple things actually. But...one of them...is...um...Bella." I answered. He stared at me before laughing.

"Are you serious? Bells? You're scared of Bells?" he chuckled surprised. I glared at him.

"You know you could be a little bit more sensitive." I spat. He kept chuckling.

"I'm sorry. It's just unbelievable. Of all things to be scared of you are scared of Bells. Bells? She's not that scary, Seth." Jake replied. I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really. I seem to remember you getting scared when she basically tried to kill you when she find out that you imprinted on Nessie. After seeing what she tried to do to you, why shouldn't I be a little scared? If I hadn't pulled her away from you, she would have killed you." I reminded.

"Well that was just a minor issue. She didn't end up killing me."

"Yeah and that's because I saved you, dude."

"Yeah well that's beside the point. Bells wouldn't mind as much as you think. She likes you." He responded, waving off my comment. I stared at him.

"That's your response? You don't happen to remember the fact that you were Bella's best friend, do you?" I asked him, pointing out his relationship with her. He put out his finger as if to point out a finer detail.

"But, you also have to remember that Bella didn't consider me her best friend the minute she found out I imprinted on her baby."

"Yeah and you don't think she's going to feel the same if she finds out about my feelings for Emma?" I countered. He sighed exasperated, tired of this argument already.

"The difference is, Seth, that you didn't happen to imprint on her the day she was born." he replied.

"Yes, but Jake I would have had I met her that day. I didn't meet her for another week." I pointed out.

"Yes but the difference is that now she's older and you were away enough that she never really saw how you felt. I mean you weren't hanging out with Emma while Bella was around most of the time. She never saw the flirting you two do."

"We do not flirt." He looked at me in disbelief.

"Are you kidding? You two flirt more than that son of hers. You two are the flirting experts and it's also pretty funny when you flirt too. You guys are so lovey duvey it's gross but kind of funny, especially when we are making fun of you behind your backs." I glared at him. Jacob laughed. Oh he was so funny.

"Back to the point, Jacob." I said, still glaring at him.

"The point is that Bella won't care. In fact she'll be happy. She's been worrying about Emma never finding someone. It has scared her more than anything. She doesn't want Emma to be alone for the rest of her life. She wants her to be happy. She can tell that Emma's not happy because everyone is paired off except her. We all know her and she needs someone. I can't imagine anyone better for her than you and I know Bella will feel the same way." Jake assured me. I looked up at him.

"Jake, is it possible for her not to care about me the same way?" I asked, voicing my other fear. I was scared that she wouldn't feel the same way. I couldn't imagine my life without Emma.

Jake was right. I was in love with Emma. I had imprinted on her. She was my everything. It was exactly as Jake had described it to Bella before. She truly was holding me to the Earth. She was my addiction, my obsession. She was the one. I can't breathe without her. It hurt me every time I had to stay away from her. When she was younger, I tried to make it less obvious that I imprinted on her. I would stay away from weeks at a time but I would always come see her at the same time. I loved how every time I saw her, her face lit up. That made my heartbeat speed up, seeing her smile. I love her smile, everything about her. I always have. I will admit however that I did not always know that I imprinted on her.

The first few weeks, I felt the pull but hadn't been able to quite figure out what it meant. I at one point thought it could have been imprinting but a part of me was in denial, not wanting to deal with the issue Jake was dealing with. But some part of me knew that she would be the one. Every time I saw her, I felt like everything was brighter. I felt different. I needed to be near her. The longer I was away, the more I missed her. It wasn't until I stayed away too long and heard about the pull in Jake's thoughts that I figured it out. I had imprinted on Bella's little girl. The revelation sent me there more often than I orignally had been. For the longest time, we were just best friends. It wasn't until a year ago that I started to fall deeply in love with her. It was then that it became my worry about her not feeling the same way.

Jake stared at me, seeming unsure of the answer to that question. It didn't surprise me. It wasn't ever heard of for that to happen but in our lives, it's not hard to not believe anything anymore. Vampires and werewolves used to be myths and vampires never fell in love with humans nor had children with them. Things just don't seem as unbelievable as they once had been. Why would it be unbelievable for this to be true too? Jake then shrugged.

"I don't really know, Seth. But is it really a bad idea to tell her? She should know. You will never find out unless you tell her." Jake answered. I nodded. I knew he was right. I would tell her. I would tell her soon. I just had to find the way to do that. With that thought, I said my goodbyes to Jake and left. I would figure out how to tell her and hope that she would feel the same way I feel about her.

_Edward POV:_

For the first time in a long time, my existence has been was going great. My family was smiling and laughing again. We gained more friends, people who had become family to us. Anne, John, and Jason have met a lot to us. They had their quirks and were interesting to say the least. The best part was that I got my Bella back. never thought that she would forgive me and yet she had. She truly was remarkable. She still finds ways to surprise me. I gained children that I never thought I could have. Nessie was very accepting of me and Emmalie was making an effort to let me in as well. The only problem was the E.J. He still refused to try and accept me as his father. He wouldn't even acknowledge me.

The fact that he will not even try to accept me makes me uneasy. He has hated me so readily, so entirely. It does pain me to know that my son will never forgive me for what I had done in the past. But I knew that I deserved it. I had broken Bella's heart and left her pregnant. I deserved worse than my son's hate. I deserved all of my kids' hatred and Bella's as well. I did not deserve their forgiveness. I seeked their forgiveness but I did not deserve it. I didn't deserve them. I didn't deserve her. I knew that and E.J had every right to hate me. I hated me. I was a monster for what I had done. I knew that I would never forgive myself for what I had done.

I was sitting in the living room, looking at the family albums Bella had on the coffee table. There were several pictures. There was one of all three of the kids when they were a few months old (but they looked like toddlers). I saw another one with the three of them and the wolves from La Push. There was one of Nessie and Jacob when Nessie looked like a toddler, one taken just after she was born, and then one with them now.

I was still unsure as to how I felt about her and Jacob being together. I could tell Jacob cared about her, that he would take care of her. He was even good for her. It was just a little strange that a guy who at one time was starting to have feelings for her mother is now her boyfriend. It's a little hard to take in. There's also the fact that she was my baby girl. Even though I hadn't known her as a baby, she was still my baby girl. It was weird that my daughter already has a boyfriend when I just found out about her. I trust Jacob  
with her though. He loves her. I know that. It's just strange seeing my little girl so grown up when I have only known her for a few months.

I went through more pictures. I started seeing ones with Bella and the kids. I saw ones from more recent times and earlier years. I saw one with Bella while she was still pregnant. She was smiling at the camera with Jason, who had his arm around her. I flipped the page and saw one with her and Anne, her and John, her and Jacob, and her with all of them. In all of those pictures she looked beautiful. I stopped on a picture in which a pregnant Bella was sleeping. She looked so at peace. A book was laying on the table next her flipped upside down. I looked closer and laughed at the title of the book. It was _Wuthering Heights_. _Of course_, I thought to myself smiling and shaking my head. That was my Bella. She absolutely loved that book. I stared at the picture of my Bella. This one was by far my favorite.

"I hate that picture." I heard. I turned around to see Bella standing behind me. She came and sat next to me on the couch. I looked at her.

"Why?" I asked. I couldn't see what was wrong with this picture.

"I don't know. I don't really like pictures of me when I'm sleeping. They're not very good pictures." she answered. I looked into her eyes and replied.

"I think it's beautiful. I think you were beautiful. I think you are still beautiful and always will be. I love this picture. It reminds me of all those times I watched you sleep before I left. And you looked even more beautiful because you were carrying my children." I responded. She smiled and leaned in to me. "_Wuthering Heights_, Bella? Really? Don't you  
ever get tired of that book?" I asked. She looked like that if she were human she would have blushed.

"No, I don't. I love it. It's a good book." she replied in a defensive tone. I looked at her with a disbelieving look.

"No it's not. Bella, the characters themselves are terrible." I argued.

"Maybe so but the book is still good." she said in a firm tone, looking like she wanted to end the argument before it really started. I appeased her and didn't continue the argument. Bella flipped some pages in the book to the back and I saw that picture of me that she had taken before I left and next to it was the picture of the two of us.

"You found it?" I asked softly, remembering very well that I hid that picture from her so that she could move on with her life. She nodded.

"Yeah. Jake and I were packing up my things to leave once we realized I was pregnant and while we were packing up I noticed the floorboard was a little off so I opened it and found all the stuff. I love that picture of you." she responded in a loving tone. She flipped the page again and there was a picture of just me and her from a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful picture. Then there was a picture of Bella, Nessie, E.J, Emma, and me. I was sitting on the couch holding Bella and staring at her with love while E.J had one arm behind Nessie (who was on his right) and one behind Emma (who was on his left). The three of them were smiling in front of the couch Bella and I were sitting on. The picture was perfect. Everything looked perfect. I put my hand on the picture like I was tracing the figure of the people in the photo. "This one is my favorite." she declared. "This is the first picture with all five of us. We actually look like a family."

"Yeah we do." I said, smiling fondly. My eyes laid on the image of my son. He was smiling the same smile I had. He truly was the spitting image of me. This was the first I had seen of his smile. The day this picture was taken I hadn't seen the smile. I didn't even know this picture was being taken. I was taken in by Bella. She was looking especially radiant that day. It was the day she told me that she trusted me again.

**I came over again to see Bella. I loved seeing her and of course Emma, E.J, and Nessie. Even though E.J and Emma didn't get along with me, I still loved seeing them and I still loved them. I may wish that they would accept me but I will always admire them for their persistence in being infuriated with me. They both were stubborn. Bella says they get that from me but I believe they inherited that from her. The three of them, regardless of their hatred of me, would always be my miracles. The three of them and Bella would be my light in the darkness. They were my everything. I don't know what I would do without Bella. The ten years without her were miserable. To lose her forever again would certainly kill me. **

**I knocked on the door. Bella had called me over today. She told me she needed to talk to me about something. I waited patiently for someone to open the door. Bella told me I shouldn't have to knock anymore. I came over here so often I might as well live here. But we both figured it would be better to do that after Emmalie and E.J trusted me. I heard someone walk the door and when it opened I saw the face of my daughter Nessie. She grinned at me.**

**"Hi, Daddy!" she greeted, hugging me tightly. I held her close to me. I loved this girl and not just because she was forgiving but because of who she is. She is a terrific girl and she reminds me a lot of Bella. She always thinks of everyone else first. Ness is very accepting and loving. She is beautiful, just like Bella. She loves reading. Bella seems to thinks she looks most like me and while some of that may be true, I see more of Bella in her than in either of her siblings. Her brother looked just like me and Emma was more of a mixture. Bella doesn't see any of her features in any of them but I see all of them very clearly. Those girls in particular held quite a few of Bella's facial features. Nessie looked at me, still grinning. "Mom's in the living room." she said. I nodded and went in.**

**I found Bella on the couch. She smiled at me and gestured for me to sit next her. I sat down beside her and sent her a smile back. She of course looked beautiful like always. Bella kissed me softly before putting her hands on mine and gazing into my eyes.**

**"Edward, I called you here to tell you something." she started. She paused for a minute before continuing. "I wanted to tell you that I love you, Edward. I can't imagine being without you. These last few weeks have made me the happiest I have been in the longest time. I remembered the conversation we had after you came back and I wanted to tell you that...I trust you, Edward." she finished. I stared at her for a minute before breaking out into a huge smile and pulling her into a passionate kiss. We pulled away and just stared at each other with love. She had just made me the happiest man in the entire universe.**

**"I love you, Bella." I declared. She smiled.**

**"I love you too, Edward." she replied. We stayed staring at each other that we hadn't realized that Anne had taken a picture of us and the kids. All I could do was stare at Bella, the most beautiful woman in the world. **

"I love that picture too." I said, coming out of my memory.

"You know we have school tomorrow." stated Bella. I nodded. That was both a good and a bad thing. I loved the idea and hated it because it would give me time to spend with her but I would also have to deal with the thoughts of the teenagers at school. It was nice to have the break from that. I would also not get to act like a father to Renesmee and I love that job.

"I know." I sighed both for that reason and something else. As I stared at that picture, I found myself still staring at E.J. Would he ever forgive me? Bella seemed to know what I was thinking.

"You know he'll come around. I told you that. He just needs time." she said. I threw my hands up in the air, frustrated.

"How much more time? Bella, I have been around for almost two months and he hasn't said a word to me since the baseball field. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. You had it fairly easy, Bella." I vented. She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh I had it easy? I only had to carry him and then give birth to him which nearly killed me. That's not difficult on my part at all." she responded sarcastically. I sighed.

"That's not what I meant. I just meant that you had their love from the start. They have loved you since they had existed." I explained.

"You had their love too. You were just gone for too long." Bella responded. I winced.

"Don't remind me." I said. I hated the fact that I was gone. It still made me upset that I had left her. It hurt to think of what she had been through without me. I had seen her through Jacob's perspective. She was absolutely destroyed after I left and it broke my heart to see her that way. I loved her and I hated to see her in pain. Bella put her hands on my face and glared at me.

"Don't you dare start that again. Edward, that's in the past. I know you want to take it back. You need to forgive yourself for it. Quit it with the self-loathing thing because it's really starting to get on my nerves." scolded Bella.

"But, Bella,-" I started.

"No." she interupted. "No. What you did is in the past. There is nothing you or I can do now so please, forgive yourself."

"I'll try." I responded, knowing she was right.

"Good because if you hadn't, I might have had to withdraw my forgiveness." she teased. I smiled at her and she smiled herself before kissing me again. Oh how I loved her!

The last day before high school was fun to say the least. Bella and I spent it with our families all together. I enjoyed every minute of it. This was the day we were going back to high school, the place that had been my purgatory before I met Bella. I was not excited about this in the slightest. High school was never my family's favorite part of the day. The only time it ever was, was when Bella was in our high school. Back then, she needed to be at school all the time. This time she doesn't so this doesn't feel like it's necessary. They had been on a long summer break and now it's the first day of school. This was going to be a long day.

I got in my Volvo with my brothers and my sisters. Bella and her family were in their own cars. We had decided that we were going to pretend that we didn't know each other for the time being. Both Anne and Alice thought it would be fun. I knew better because that would mean hearing thoughts I don't want to hear about my other family. I drove behind Bella's car and behind us was E.J's car. We pulled into the parking lot and saw several students heads turn our way. Bella parked in a spot and further down we parked. E.J chose a spot closer to Bella. We all got out of our cars and that's when their thoughts started to broadcast inside my head.

_Wow somehow they got even hotter over the summer!_

_Look at Jason's muscles! He's so gorgeous! Why oh why did he have to be dating that...that...that Anne!_

_John's looking good this year! Maybe I'll ask him out this time. Jason's already turned me down but John doesn't have a girl._

_E.J of course looks adorable as always although weirdly enought there's another guy at the end of the parking lot that looks just like him but that's better for me. If E.J turns me down I can ask him out!_

_Anne's so pretty this year! I wish..._

_Nessie is hot. She's absolutely looking perfect this year! Maybe I should...,_ I heard a guy think. His thoughts got more vivid and it caused me to growl menacingly. He'd better watch his thoughts or I might end up killing him. The same thoughts were there for Emma.

_Look at Bella! She is so hot. I'm gonna..._, I heard this one BOY start thinking. I started growling even more than I had for my daughters. How dare he say things like that about my Bella? I was about ready to run after him and hurt him. He was starting to remind me of those guys who were once after Emma and those guys from Port Angeles all those years ago. As we walked into the school and I passed the guy, I glared at him. _Sheesh! What's his problem?_

I walked towards the couseling office with my family. I felt Bella come up to me and weave her hand into mine. I looked at her and she smiled. _Relax, Edward. It's fine, _I heard her say in her thoughts. Wait her thoughts? How? I could never read her thoughts! This is the first time I've ever read her thoughts...ever! She grinned, catching my surprise. I sent her an inquisitive look. _I'll tell you _later, she responded before winking and walking away. Now I couldn't wait until I got home because I couldn't wait to hear this explanation.

We got our schedules and went through the day before getting to gym. E.J and I were in the same gym class. We were both in the locker room and could hear the conversations in the room. Sadly enough, the guy with the irritating thoughts was in this class as well. E.J and I were both silently getting ready. We both tensed at the sound of the guy's voice. He started to talk about Bella. Both our fists clenched.

"So Bella looks absolutely perfect this year. You know I asked her out again and she turned me down again. She's going to say yes to me this year. We are going to go on a date together and we will..." I heard the guy say, not quite hearing the words but knowing where they were going. My jaw clenched. I looked at E.J and saw him in the same position. I heard him continue and say same crude things about Bella and that's when I lost it. I attacked him, punching him (at human speed and human strength). I felt people pull me back, including E.J. "What did you do that for?" he asked.

"Never say those things about Bella ever again!" I spat.

"Don't tell me what to do, newbie. You are new hear so you obviously don't know how things work around here so..." he replied.

"I think I know very well how things work and what you people are like and I'm telling you to back off." I hissed.

"I can do whatever I want." he responded icily. "There's nothing you can do about it." I felt E.J's hold on me loosen.

"Well I can and will. You had beeter back off, Warren, or Edward won't be the only one attacking you. I will be as well and I won't hold Edward back either." E.J said menacingly, glaring at the guy. He took me by the arm and pulled me aside.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked me.

"I wasn't going to let him get away with what he said. Contrary to your belief, I actually care about her. I love her. Does that sound good enough for you?" I replied angrily. I was not really mad at him. I was still furious because of Warren. So in attempt to control my fury, I left the room, leaving E.J there stunned and thinking.

_Emmalie POV:_

I walked to my English class that I was alone in. I did however have friends in this class. I really wondered how things were going with E.J and Dad in the same class. That seemed like it would be a nightmare. It made me a little worried. It also made me feel that way because I suddenly felt a burst of anger coming from the gym. I knew them being in the same class alone was a bad idea. I would talk to my mom about this and E.J. I saw my friend Dylan, looking nervous. He was a great guy and really great friend. He was one of my favorite people in this school. Dylan then walked up to me.

"Hey Emma." he greeted nervously. I sent him a sweet smile.

"Hey, Dylan. What's up?" I asked. He looked down and fiddled with his fingers.

"I wanted to ask you something for the longest time." he responded. He looked into my eyes. "Em, would you go out on a date with me?" he asked.

I was stunned. I didn't know how to respond. I liked this guy. I would willingly go out on a date with him had I not been so in love with Seth. I didn't know what I was going to say. I wanted to but I loved Seth. But Seth couldn't possibly feel the same way? Should I go out with him or should I not? I could see myself falling for this guy so should I wait? After a minute I made my decision.


	17. Ch16: Answers, Confusion, Help

**AN:**** Hey so I am so so so sorry for the long wait. I have been busy and I will try and update this story again in the next couple months. I'm going to be realistic. It's been taking me a while to come up with stuff so it still may be a while but the next chapter is already started. I've had this chapter written out for a while now it's just been a matter of when I was going to type it up so I can post it. But anyway, just letting you know I'M NOT GIVING UP ON THIS STORY. IF I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN A WHILE I STILL AM WORKING ON IT. I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THE STORY DESPITE LONG TIMES BETWEEN UPDATES. Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter and read and review. Please let me know what you think! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight or the characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

******Summary:** Set after Edward left in New Moon. Bella's life started to fall apart when he left but then some surprises come her way and practically takes away her life in Forks. Edward and his family come back a year later to find out Bella had died about two weeks after they left. Edward and his family are heartbroken until Jasper gets a call from an old friend asking him and his family to be a part of her wedding. Tensions rise and some angers are tested. Secrets and pasts are revealed and some relationships are tested. It's time to see what all of them are made of.

**Chapter Sixteen**

_Emmalie POV:_

I was surprised when Dylan had first asked me out on a date. I had no idea he felt that way which is weird because normally I see this coming a mile away due to my ability. Have I been this oblivious to him? Have I been this consumed in my drama with Seth that I hadn't even recognized that he had feelings for me? What was wrong with me? And what do I do? I like Dylan, I really do. But I love Seth. How can I date Dylan when I feel something more for Seth? For the first time I had no idea what to say.

"Um…I…uh…" I was speechless, mumbling words, unsure as what I should say. He looked down a little embarrassed and absent mindedly rubbed the back of his neck.

"If you don't that's ok. It won't hurt my feelings." I shot him a look of disbelief. "Ok, maybe it will a little but I don't want you to feel obligated or anything." I smiled at him.

"You're sweet." He blushed modestly. "You are. And it's very sweet of you to ask me but I'm going to be honest with you. I like you, a lot but not…in…that…way. See…I…" I answered slowly.

"…like someone else? Someone like Seth?" he asked, smiling.

"Am I that obvious? Am I really _that_ transparent?" I asked exasperated. He chuckled. You know for someone who just got his date request declined, he was easily amused.

"A little bit but I've seen the way you look at him. I just knew that if I never asked you, I would regret it for the rest of my life." explained Dylan.

"Well I appreciate it and I'm sorry I have to say 'no' to you. There's just…something between Seth and I and I need to figure that out first before going on any dates." I replied.

"It's ok and I understand. Can I offer you a piece of advice?" he asked. I nodded.

"Of course."

"Don't wait to tell him how you feel. Tell him how you feel soon. He won't wait forever you know. If the two of you don't settle this soon, one of you is going to end up hurt." advised Dylan. He wasn't looking at me anymore as he said this. He was looking behind me at his old crush Mandy.

Dylan may have developed some feelings for me but he and I both knew that the one he really, truly liked was Mandy. She was his best friend since they were toddlers. They grew up in this town together. Her parents had moved into the house next to his and when they were introduced, they immediately hit it off and they were best friends ever since. But as they grew older, she became more than a best friend in his eyes. When he realized what he felt he kept it to himself, leaving room for another to step in and sweep her off her feet. Afterwards, he became hurt and their friendship was lost. The rift was something they never recovered from and it didn't seem likely to change.

I knew however that if he just said something, he'd be the one with her for she felt the same way he felt about her. She still looked at him the same way he looked at her. Dylan just never saw that. Somehow they always managed to look at each other when the other wasn't looking. In reality, our situations were fairly similar. As I watched Dylan glance longingly at Mandy, I realized I had to tell Seth soon. I didn't want this to happen to us. Seth is my best friend and I can't imagine my life without him there. He'd always been there and I didn't want to risk losing him like Dylan lost Mandy. It was while I was thinking that I came up with a plan.

I grinned. Seth wouldn't even know what hit him.

_E.J POV:_

After the confrontation with Warren, gym went by without a hitch. My team did great. However my mind kept going back to Edward. _I wasn't going to let him get away with what he said. Contrary to your belief, I actually care about her. I love her. Does that sound good enough for you?_ That had been what he had said when I asked why he defended my mother. Was he telling the truth? Did he really care about Mom? If you had asked me that question a few months ago, I would have said some spiteful remark at his expense and said that he never did, that he never would. But…now…now I'm not so sure.

See what I had expected when he came into town was him basically toying with Mom's feelings and then leaving her again. Personally, I haven't dropped the thought of him leaving quite yet but I am finally starting to see something in his eyes when he looks at Mom. He looks at her like she is the greatest thing in the world, like she's a miracle, like she's everything in the world to him. And he looks at Emma and Ness the same way too, like he couldn't believe his luck. It was all very confusing. He was confusing. Then there's Mom.

Mom has never looked happier and while I still don't necessarily like or forgive him, I like seeing how happy she is. For so long, Mom has been depressed. Suddenly, he's' back and it's like…it's like it never happened. It made me almost wish I could forgive him or even forget it ever happened. But I can't. I'll never be able to forget the nights Mom cried dried tears over him, how her heart broke every time she so much as looked at me. Her face back then will always be engraved in my memory. It was so sad, so heartbreaking. I still remembered when I was younger I sometimes caught her crying and sat next to her telling her that it was ok. It was moments like those that I really reminded Uncle Jase of Mom.

I got that from her, among other things. I had always been stubborn and caring. Aunt Anne actually told me that sometimes I even looked like the adult when I was with Mom. However, according to Mom, I got the protective gene from Edward which I have labeled as untrue. It wasn't even because I didn't like him that I deemed the statement false. It was because I knew my Mom. Mom was always the protective one. Even now when I'm reconsidering my thoughts and feeling about Edward, I still firmly believe Mom is the protective one. She's the one who never let anything hurt Ness, Emma, or me. She's the one who defended the ones she cared about without seven a millisecond of hesitation. She's the one who gave up her life in Forks just so she could protect us and the Cullens (despite the fact that they had left her). No, I knew exactly where my protective instinct came from. It came from the greatest protector I knew. Maybe that's why I have such a hard time accepting Edward. Maybe I'm just trying to protect my family from getting hurt again; maybe…maybe I'm even trying to protect myself.

My thoughts twisted and turned inside of my head, causing me to drop my head down abruptly on the piano I had been playing at home. Everyone else was out doing things with Drill Sargent Auntie Annie, who was trying to get things together for her wedding. I honestly couldn't wait until this nightmare was over, at least then I could escape her frantic thoughts. _What should I wear? Those don't match. If they don't listen to what I say… It's only a few days away. Hm…we might need to do more shopping._ Its times like these I wish I could turn off all the thoughts around me because if I hear these thoughts one more time I'm going to lose it and then Uncle Jase would not have a bride to marry in two days. She was driving me crazy! In the past three days, she's sent me on fifteen different shopping trips! It was all becoming very irritating.

My head remained on the piano until I heard a chuckle from behind me. I turned and saw my sister Nessie standing there, staring amusedly at the sight of my head on the piano.

"Comfortable?" she asked amused.

"Not really" I replied. She laughed.

"That doesn't really surprise me." she responded before coming over to the piano bench and sitting next to me. "So that was a pretty good sound."

"What? The song I was playing?" I asked. Nessie smirked.

"No, the sound of your head hitting the keys" she replied, grinning. I glared at her, something that seemed to have no effect on her mood whatsoever.

"Aren't you supposed to be with her highness?" I asked, annoyed.

"Nope. Auntie decided to do the rest of the shopping on her own."

"Then why isn't anyone else here?"

"Well, Emma is out planning something. I have no idea what. I think it has something to do with Seth. Anyway, Aunt Rose and Uncle Em are out on 'date'. Enough said there. Uncle Jazz and Uncle John are going hunting. Aunt Alice is with Auntie Killjoy. Jake is with the pack for the weekend and Mom is out with Dad." she explained cheerily. I looked down at the piano at the reminder of Edward, someone I had been hoping to forget about at least a few minutes. I felt Ness put her hand on my shoulder and saw my face in my mind. When I saw my face the way she saw it, I knew what she wanted. She wanted to know if I was ok. I put my hand on hers as a signal that I saw the image and looked at her and smiled.

"I'm fine, Ness." I replied. She looked at me, not believing a word I just said.

"No you're not. You're upset about something. Come on. Talk to me. You're my big brother, E.J. Let me help you." she pleaded.

"Nessie-" I started.

"No. Look, you haven't been talking to me very often since Dad came back and I want to talk. Emma's not your only sister you know" she replied angrily. I sighed, tiredly. I honestly wasn't trying to make her upset.

"I know she's not."

"Then you have a funny way of showing it! I know you're still mad at me for giving Dad a chance but this is getting ridiculous, E.J! I know he's not your favorite person in the world but you shouldn't cut me out just because I want my Dad!" she yelled. How dare she accuse me of that? I'm not mad at her for that anymore; I haven't been in a while.

"I'm not trying to cut you out!" I yelled back, feeling my temper rising.

"Well for someone doing it unintentionally, you are doing a good job!" Nessie shouted. I glared at her and clenched my jaw.

"Hey, it's not like you have been trying to talk to me either! It works both ways, Ness!" I spat. "You've been ignoring me a heck of a lot longer than I've been ignored you!"

"What are you talking about? That's not true!"

"The heck it isn't! You haven't really talked to me since the day Jake told you he imprinted on you!" I yelled furiously, finally saying the words I had thought I had buried deep down inside years ago. She stood there, shocked and looking slightly hurt. If I had not been so angry, I would have most likely backed down. I hated seeing her upset. When she looked sad, she really reminded me of Mom when she was upset because of Dad.

"That's not true." Nessie said softly, denying my claim.

"You're it is! Ever since Jake told you, all you have talked about was Jake, how sweet Jake is. How strong Jake is. How great Jake is. All you talk about is Jake! All you care about is Jake!" I vented. I saw her sad expression turn to fury.

"That's not true and where do you get off talking to me about always talking about Jake? You are the one who only talks about Taylor! How pretty she is! How smart she is! How perfect she is! You honestly haven't been much better, Edward Jacob!" she yelled before I attacked her and her doing the same to me. We fought for what seemed like hours before finally we both stood up, waiting for the other to calm down. "If you've had this many issues, why haven't you just talked to me about them! E.J, it's been four years since Jake told me he imprinted on me! Why did you wait until now to talk to me?" she asked seeming to calm down the more and more she talked.

"You should have realized it yourself! Ness, we used to know everything about each other. You used to always know when I was upset. You just stopped paying attention to me! And just when things were finally getting back to normal, Dad comes into the picture and all of the sudden you start shutting me out and paying more attention to him! You know it wouldn't kill you to spend your time with other people, Ness!" I yelled, still trying to get out all the words I had bitten back on several occasions over the years. Nessie looked down, a little ashamed.

"You're right" she said, looking at me with tears in her eyes. "You're right. I haven't been paying very much attention to you. I'm sorry that it seems that way. I guess I've just been so focused on spending time with Jake because I'm afraid that one day he'll do what Dad did and leave. As for Dad…E.J, I've wanted to know him for so long and now…now I've got that chance to know him and I…I don't want to let it go. I really am sorry, E.J" she cried. As tears fell down her cheeks, I felt my anger at her suddenly vanish in into nonexistence. My gaze softened and I pulled her into a hug as she cried into my shoulder. We sat back on the piano bench.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner. I honestly hadn't realized I was still mad at you for that and I'm sorry that I took all my frustration out on you. And you are right too. I had been doing the same thing with Taylor and for that I am truly sorry." I apologized, still hugging her close to me. "Will you forgive me?" She moved her head from my shoulder and looked up at me and nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, just don't wait another four years to say something next time ok? I'm not the mind reader so I don't have any idea what's going on in your head with is good because your mind would be one of two possibilities: mind numbingly dull or just plain scary" Ness teased. I chuckled.

"Well yours isn't much a picnic either." We both laughed and she put her head on my shoulder. This was honestly the closest we have been in a few years. It's now that it is here I realize how much I had missed this, being close like we used to be. This was more like it. This was what we had been like before Jake had told her he imprinted on her. We sat in comfortable silence with her leaning on me before she stiffened and pulled away quickly. She looked at me, shocked. I looked at her a little confused. What had surprised her?

"E.J" she asked stunned.

"Yeah?" I inquired confused.

"Did you just…I mean did you…earlier when you were yelling at me…did you…did you call Edward… 'Dad'?" she asked, shocked. I sat there for a minute frozen. I was stunned too. Had I said that? I reflected for a moment. Eventually, after sifting through our argument I heard my own voice say _And just when things were getting back to normal, Dad comes into the picture…_ I had called him 'Dad'. Why did I do that? I looked at Nessie with my own expression of surprise. What does this mean? Did it mean anything? Was I subconsciously forgiving him? Was it a habit after hearing Emma and Ness say it? Man, this somehow got more confusing. I groaned and let my head fall back on the piano again. This sucked!

_Emma POV:_

I drove down the familiar road in my Ferrari. I saw the familiar town of Forks. I saw people my mom and Aunt Angela had been friends with including Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton. Apparently, they had gotten married about a year ago and were both doing pretty well in a college near Forks. And before you ask, yes I have seen my grandfather police Chief Charlie Swan once. About a year ago, I came to Forks and was going over the speed limit and didn't realize Chief Swan saw me. He had pulled me over and stared at me like he recognized me. I mentally panicked when I saw the way he looked at me but whatever conclusion he came up with, he dismissed it. I actually got off with a warning so I was lucky. Ever since then, I've been driving the speed limit in Forks when E.J wasn't there to my lookout. As much as I loved seeing Grandpa Charlie for myself, I couldn't risk him finding out about me or vampires in general. Also, Mom would kill me and if you've never seen Mom mad, you've lucky and I envy you for that. She was truly frightening when she was angry. That was the whole reason behind my driving at a normal speed though I itched to make the car go faster.

I drove and parked outside a small, white paneled house. The shutters were dark green. The driveway was not paved but simply dirt. The house didn't look like much but it was a good starting home, one for a couple who just recently gotten married. I got out of my car and walked up to the front door. I knocked and the door opened, showing a familiar man in the door.

He had tan skin and blue eyes. His sandy blonde hair was slightly curly and very messy. He looked like he had just gotten out of bed, which he probably was based on the fact that he was also shirtless. He looked at me and smiled before pulling me into a hug.

"Emma!" he yelled. I laughed.

"Ethan!" I yelled back. We pulled away. "How's the wife?" I asked. He grinned.

"She's good, a little crabby like always but good." he answered with a smile. "What are you doing here?" Gotten tired of your family again?" he asked.

See here's the thing: I don't typically go to Forks unless I'm hanging out with the pack and/or Seth or I'm having issues with my family and don't feel like talking to Seth about it. I usually come here when I want to talk to Ethan's wife. She's one of my best friends and she always understood the family stuff because she got tired of hers too. We've been friends since I was little. As I got closer to her age, the more we related. She and I both talked about our boy troubles and everything. She however got lucky and four years ago met Ethan. Ethan turned out to be the kindest guy I have ever known and immediately hit it off which wasn't surprising considering she, a werewolf, imprinted on him. It turned out to be a good math for them. They were as different as two people could be, but they regardless, loved each other. It gave me a little hope that someone's out there for me.

"Well, why don't you come in? I can go get wifey and be back in a jiffy." He responded cheerily. He's actually one of the happiest guys I know; even Uncle Jase and Uncle Em have nothing on him. He's not hyper like Aunt Alice which I have recently felt was a good thing. I like Aunt Alice but if I had to choose between hanging out with her or Aunt Rose, I'd choose Aunt Rose. At least Aunt Rose doesn't look like just drank 100 gallons of caffeine. I swear Aunt Alice scares me sometimes. I shuttered. "What's the matter?" he asked, smirking. He, like E.J, also loved embarrassing me so there was absolutely no way I was going to tell him I was scared of my psychotically hyper aunt.

"It's just a little cold that's all." I lied. He grinned, mischievously.

"Ems? It's 50 degrees out and you're wearing one of your heavier jackets, plus you don't get cold that easily so come up with a better excuse next time." Ethan said, laughing. I glared and stuck my tongue out at him, which encouraged him to laugh some more.

"Ethan Jacobs, stop being a jerk. I'm supposed to be the mean one, not you." responded a familiar voice from inside the house. I soon saw her approaching the front door. She looked the same as always. She was wearing that same fierce look she always had on her face but when she saw me she smiled and gave me a hug.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I have a proposition for you." I answered.

"Oh?" she replied, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes. I'm getting tired of waiting for him to say something. I need to know if I'm waiting for nothing."

"Why does that bring you here?"

"I have a plan and I would like your help." I said with a grin.

"Anything to make an idiot out of my fool brother." replied a grinning Leah, Seth's older sister and Ethan's wife. I flashed my own evil grin and went inside with the couple. Oh this was going to be fun!

**AN: BTW, for those of you who may not like Leah, I felt I needed to add her in there at least briefly because she's Seth's sister. But she is not one of the main characters and will probably only pop up on occasion so no need to worry. But if you all do want her to show up a little more often let me know. Thank you and let me know what you think!**


	18. Ch17: The Wedding, newcomers, too late

**AN: Hi everyone! I got a chapter up a lot sooner I think than I did last time. I've had this one written out but I had no idea where to end it and then I was trying to catch up on my other story, hoping i could post both on the same day which I actually managed so that's good. I'll post this one first and then the second story for those of you who are reading both stories!**

**_I want to thank the reviewer that pointed out the fact that I have been kind of neglecting Carlisle and Esme._ I just have been so busy focusing on everyone else that I didn't even realize I did that so thank you for pointing it out and I hope that this is ok and answers the question a little. I'll try and bring them in more but for this chapter, this was all I could think of. So I hope this helps a little.**

**Everyone feel free to point things out to me if I neglect characters or anything like that. I try not to but sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing that so just let me know and ask questions if you have any and thank you all for your reviews they mean a lot to me and give me motivation so PLEASE READ AND REVIEW SO I CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS AND HEAR YOUR GUYS' THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters. Stephenie Meyer on the other hand does!**

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Bella POV:_

I watched happily as my only son and eldest daughter laughed at irrelevant things. It has been only a day since the tension between the two siblings died down and already the two were inseparable. It was good to see them like this again. The lot of us was having doubts on whether they would ever talk about their issues and now…it's just like it had been for six years since the two of them were born. They were best friends again. I smiled as I saw my daughter glare and stick her tongue out at her brother. It really seemed like everything was falling into place.

Life was so close to perfect recently. I mean, the Cullens were back now. My children were getting along better than they had in years. Two thirds of my children are accepting Edward into their lives, even E.J seemed like he was finally coming around. Then of course there was the wedding tomorrow, which is good because everyone including Alice was about to give Anne an intervention. She was driving us all crazy. I think we'll all finally have some peace when this massive event is over. But really this event was even a good thing for my family. Our family was becoming whole and that thought kept me smiling until I felt familiar arms slip around me.

I knew who this was. I had known this man for almost twelve years now. He was the one who sent my heart racing when I was human. He was the one who sent a spark through me whenever he so much as touched my hand, something that still happened regardless of the fact that I was a vampire. He was one of the main things that made life so perfect. He was here, something I had never thought would happen again. He was here and miraculously still in love with me as I was with him. I really did love him and he was one of the best things in my life aside from my children, our children. I heard his soft voice speak to me.

"What are you thinking?" he asked. That was his favorite question. He always asked that when I was human and still does even now that I'm a vampire.

"Look at them, Edward. I haven't seen them this close in years. You have no idea how ecstatic this makes me. I didn't know if they'd ever be this close again and yet there they are…inseparable," I answered softly.

"You did a tremendous job raising them, you know?" he responded. I smiled. I knew that. He was constantly telling me that.

"Yeah I know," I replied. A comfortable silence came between us as we watched our daughter and son watch a football game on TV. Both were rooting for different teams. It was quite entertaining to watch. "So are you ready for the nightmare that is tomorrow?" I asked. Edward groaned.

"Ugh no! I don't know about you but your future sister-in-law is driving me crazy."

"Yeah Anne's been a bit of a handful."

"I'm not talking about her. I'm talking about Alice. She's the one who is scheduling all these last minute shopping trips and giving Anne more and more ideas, not to mention her thoughts are very wedding central. It's driving me insane!" he responded. I laughed.

"Yeah well that's Alice," I replied.

"I know," he sighed. I then remembered how he'd brought Alice into the conversation, 'future sister-in-law'.

"Future sister-in-law?" I asked him, turning in his arms to face him. I saw his eyes widen a little bit. "You think we're going to get married someday or something?" I asked, with an eyebrow raised. He seemed to recover from his momentary shock and shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe someday, obviously not right now, probably not for another couple years at least. Why? Did you want to-," he asked.

"No, not right now," I said in agreement dismissing my feelings of disappointment as he said that we'd wait another couple years. I turned back to my children. "I'm glad you're here, Edward."

"I'm glad I'm here too. I really missed you," he said, pulling me closer and kissing my forehead. I didn't even see the smirk that came upon Edward's face as we stayed intertwined for the rest of the day.

_Jason POV:_

Today was the big day. I was actually nervous. What if I said the wrong thing? What if I dropped the rings? I'm not supposed to be this panicky, that's Annie's job. This was a huge deal for me, marrying Anne. I was really scared that I'd do something wrong and drive her away. Nervously, I began pacing in my tux. I heard the door open and saw my baby sister coming in.

"Jase, you are going to burn a hole in the carpet," she said, smiling. I stopped and really looked at her. She was beautiful, not just her usual beauty but even more so. Her hair was up and partially braided. I smiled at her.

"You look beautiful, Bells," I said. Bella smiled back and I knew if she could blush she would. She then smirked.

"If you think I look beautiful, you should see Anne," she replied. I groaned.

I really wanted to see her. I actually tried to see her but Alice, Rosalie, Johnny-Boy, and Bells kept me out. They said we're to do things the traditional way meaning no seeing the bride before the wedding. Then Bells had Edward and Jasper lead me back to my dressing room. The two were basically acting as security at the wedding since we had an almost full wedding party unlike what Anne had said to get the Cullens here.

I only needed one groomsman and the guy I got along best with was Emmett. Anne's was already full so none of the girls could be her bridesmaids but they all understood that. Carlisle was the minister at the wedding. Anne didn't trust Emmett who had first volunteered and John was walking her down the aisle so she thought he would be the best choice. Esme was an usher and did some planning. Alice was the main co-planner and she and Rose made up the makeup team. Sam's and Emily's little girl, Carly, was the flower girl and Jacob's nephew (son of Paul and Jake's sister), Shawn, was the ring bearer. E.J was my best man and of course my nieces were Anne's bridesmaids. Angela and Ben were both bridesmaid and groomsman and Jake was one of my groomsmen as well. Bells was of course Annie's maid of honor. Taylor was helping Esme with ushering. Everyone had a job. Anne really got it to all work out. So far everything was going right. Still I felt nervous.

I sat down nervously playing with my fingers. I was so out of it that I didn't even notice Bells pull up a chair next to me. She placed her hand on mine. I looked up out her and saw her concerned expression.

"Are you ok?" she asked. I sighed and nodded.

"I'm just nervous," I answered honestly.

"Why?" she asked.

"You know why," I stated. She nodded. She knew better than anyone of my aversion to marriage.

I know what you're wondering. You're wondering why I'm getting married if I was so against it. Well, the answer's simple. If there's one person I want to be married to for the rest of my existence it's her. We gone through this without my issues causing an issue, right? Yeah, wrong! The reason, the real reason, why I didn't want to get married earlier wasn't because I wanted John's permission, well that was part of it but it was because of my issues with marriage. After my parents divorced I became scared of the very prospect of marriage. I can still remember my human life for the most part including some of my earliest memories in which I was watching my parents argue nonstop. I didn't want that and I know if I hadn't met Anne I would never have given it a second thought but…I love her. Ugh, this was so complicated! Bells brought her hand up to my shoulder.

"Jase, it's going to be ok. You are going to get through this."

"What if I don't? What if I end up hurting her because my issues get in the way? I don't want to hurt her, Bells. I love her too much to want that," I replied.

"Concentrate on that whenever you have the instinct to run. As long as you keep thinking and believing that, you'll be fine."

"But what if I—"

"Then I'll have Edward and Jasper drag you back," she said smiling. "And pummel you myself later." I chuckled and leaned on her shoulder. "It's going to be ok." It was then that Jasper came in chuckling.

"Alice says, 'get your butt out there. It's time'." Bella gave me another smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see very soon," she said walking out the door, leaving Jasper and me alone. I felt calm waves come toward me and gave Jasper a grateful smile.

"Thanks."

"No problem. You've just got to relax. It's going to be fine. Alice and Anne would have known if something was going to go wrong," he replied, smiling. _Not if it's a last minute decision they wouldn't_, I thought. I followed Jasper out to the altar. When I got to the altar, Carlisle smiled at me.

"How are you doing?" he asked kindly.

"I'm ok."

"It's ok to be nervous."

"Yeah," I said, my stomach still in knots and not wanting to give him a hint as to my plans. Wait, plans! I'm not going to run away like I used to when I was in a serious relationship. This was Anne. I love her. As the ceremony started, I kept repeating in my head 'I love her. That's why I am doing this. I love her.' I hadn't even really seen anyone else come to the altar then the wedding march sounded and my anxiety increased. I repeated my chanting even faster in my head. 'I love her. That's why I'm doing this. I love her. I love her. I love…' That's when I saw her, the most beautiful creature in the world.

She was an absolute vision. Her brown hair was partly pulled back however some bangs framed her face. Her white dress fit her perfectly. She walked with such grace. I never thought I would find her more beautiful than I did the day I met her and yet here she was, and no beauty could ever compare. As soon as my eyes fell on her all thoughts of running away disappeared. I simply watched in astonishment as the angel came closer to me. When John brought her to the altar and put her hand in mine, he gave me a nod of approval. Whoa! Johnny-Boy gave up! He gave up! Any respect I had for him vanished! He's supposed to still fight with me about Anne! It's a brother's job! Plus, now I've got no one to pick on for no reason. I heard chuckling behind me and saw E.J trying not to laugh. _I hate you, nephew_, I thought to him. He grinned. _Liar_, he responded in my head. Anne sent me a questioning gaze and I shook her head at her. I'd come up with an explanation later.

The two of us turned to Carlisle who started the ceremony with the typical "we are gathered her today…" shtick. Then it came to the vows. Anne looked at me.

"Jason, I spent years as a human," (Our audience were all either vampires we had befriended or werewolves) "looking for the right guy and I failed to find that. Then I became a vampire and as time went on I began to believe that I would never meet my soul mate. Then one day at work I met an interesting man. I didn't know why but I felt drawn to him. I talked to him and felt truly alive for the first time ever. I soon wasn't able to be away from him. You became the focus of my world and each day I spent with you became more and more precious. And today is no exception. Jase, I promise to love you and honor you for the rest of my existence. I promise to give you everything I am and nothing else. With this ring, I thee wed," she said. I smiled at and took her hands in mine after she slipped the wedding ring on my finger.

"I never thought this day would come. I always thought I'd never get married. I never wanted to. I didn't want this. I'll admit I even thought about not showing up today but then I saw you. You are the most special thing in the world to me and I'm sorry for being the idiot I am. Before I had only been in a relationship that lasted a month. I never met anyone who made me want to rethink my views and then you came along. Annie, you came gracefully into my life and turned my world upside down and each day with you has made me happier than I could ever be. I am so indebted to you for everything you do to me, for caring for me as much as I care for you. I love you, Anne! You are my angel and there's no one that could ever separate me from you. I'm here today because of you, Anne. I promise to love you for the rest of my existence. I only hope you can handle my stupidity. With this ring, I wed thee," I said. She smiled and partially glared at me.

"It's 'I thee wed', dummy," she said smiling. We heard Carlisle give us our cue and I took my angel in my arms and kissed her like never before.

"I now present Mr. and Mrs. Swan," announced Carlisle with a smile on his face. I hugged Anne closer to me and kissed her again, all fears gone. I had her and she was all I needed.

"You almost left me?" Anne asked as we walked to the reception area in the house.

"Yeah, sort of. I'm sorry, darling. Forgive me?" I asked. Her eyes narrowed before she smiled and replied.

"I'll always forgive you, you dolt. But ever think about it again and I'll kill you," she said with a smile. I saluted.

"Yes, ma'am!" I said, grinning before kissing her again. I saw Bella and mouthed to her 'Thank you'. She smiled and nodded. Esme then came over with Carlisle.

"Congratulations, you two. We're both very happy for you and thank you for asking us to be a part of your wedding," Esme said sweetly. Anne hugged them both.

"Thank you both so much. I really appreciate all the help. You guys have become like parents to us all since you came here so thank you for coming here and helping us out and everything," my beautiful wife said.

"We're glad we could help," replied Carlisle. Both of them then gave me a hug as well.

After Carlisle and Esme left to go mingle with the other million guests Annie and Alice invited. More people came up to us with congratulations, even John who now seems to have recovered his dislike of me (since I was considering leaving his sister he's pretty ticked at me). It seemed to go on forever. All I wanted was to spend quality time with my amazing wife. I still can't believe she's mine. I stared at her and she gazed happily at everyone having a good time. She turned toward me, feeling my gaze on her and smiled.

"What?" she asked. I kissed her.

"I just can't believe you married me, that you're mine, that you love me as much as I love you," I answered honestly gazing into her topaz eyes.

"You better believe it. You're stuck with me forever now," she grinned. I grinned back at her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I replied giving her another kiss however this one turned into a make out session. _Get a room_, I heard in my head. Oh come on! We broke apart and I turned to my nephew who was smirking in my direction as he danced with his girlfriend, Taylor. Before I could go back to my moments with Annie, Rosalie, Alice, Bella, and Angela pulled her away to do some girly thing. I pouted and Anne gave me a kiss telling me we will have plenty alone time on the honeymoon. As I sat in my chair, I saw Edward walking toward me. He smiled.

"Congratulations, Jason," he said.

"Thank you," I replied. "If you're looking for Bells, she just ran off with the other girls and my wife." I saw Edward shift nervously. What's with him?

"Actually I wanted to talk to you," he replied and gestured toward the exit, silently asking for privacy. I nodded and the two of us walked out. I still saw Edward's smile become more and more nervous and began to wonder what he wanted.

_John POV:_

I was happy for them. I really was. I'm just extremely upset at Jason. How could he even consider leaving my sister? Did he not realize how much that would hurt her? I know it shouldn't matter that he thought about it because he did show up but that he even thought about it frustrated me. I was even willing to let bygones be bygones but no. Why did he even ask to marry her if he really didn't want to get married? Ugh! This man's so frustratingly annoying.

As I watched all the couples dancing, laughing, and kissing I could only think about whether or not I'd get to have that someday. Anne said I would but we were able to prevent one of her visions from coming true when we saved Jason from those three nomad vampires over ten years back. That's the thing about her visions, the future changes. All I needed to do is make one wrong choice and I'll never meet whoever it is I'm supposed to meet. I wanted to meet whoever she is. When Anne told me about her vision and how I was finally with someone, I felt…hopeful.

It's not like I haven't tried to find someone because I have but they never feel right. And what's worse…every time I am with someone…I think about her. I thought about how much I missed her, how I wanted her back more than anything, how I still loved her like I had back then. She was everything to me then. She was my best friend; she knew me better than anyone. But she was gone. It was just pathetic of me to be so hung up on someone enough that everyone else seems unimportant, especially when she was dead. I should have moved on or at least had the ability to do so.

I leaned back in the chair I was sitting in and closed my eyes. I thought back to when I was human, when there was just me and her. I remembered her perfect blue eyes and how they lit up with she smiled. They were the only thing I remembered about her appearance but that was enough for me. I loved her eyes and as long as I remembered them I was content.

"Penny for your thoughts?" someone had asked. I sat up and opened my eyes and saw a woman with golden blonde hair and topaz eyes. Her lips were ruby red and were turned up into a smile. "Sorry you just looked so alone. I just thought I'd talk to you," she said.

I just kept staring. She was beautiful, devastatingly beautiful. I had never seen anything so…perfect and yet…something about her made my frozen heart jump in my chest. I felt this instant connection to her which I didn't quite understand. I must have been staring for a while because she seemed about ready to leave.

"Look, I guess this is a bad time. I'll just go," she said turning around to leave.

"No!" I said quickly grabbing her hand with mine. I felt sparks run up my arm as my hand gripped hers. As she turned around a little surprised. I dropped my hand, confused at what those sparks were. "You don't need to go. I was just…lost in my thoughts. That's all. I'm sorry I was being so rude." I apologized. She smiled. Wow, her smile was pretty. Snap out of it, Andrews!

"It's all right," she responded. I hesitantly held my hand to her.

"I'm John," I said. She smiled and put her hand in mine and once again the sparks came. Seriously, what the heck?

"I'm Liz," she replied. The name struck a chord with me. Liz…I liked that. I liked her and we sat and talked and I suddenly became more and more attracted to her. And for the first time…I didn't think about her. I was so enthralled by Liz that I hadn't noticed a flash of red move in front of the window between us. Things were about to get very complicated.

_Seth POV:_

It's been three days since Jason's and Anne's wedding. Jason and Anne already took off for their honeymoon and it was becoming school time for the forever teenaged vampires. Oh and Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper. Everything was getting back to normal. Well…almost normal.

For the longest time, Emma would call me to talk and discuss everything but I haven't heard from her recently. She didn't even talk to me at Jason's and Anne's wedding. She attached herself to my sister, E.J, the bride, Nessie, Bella, Edward, practically anyone but me. Was that kiss really that bad that she couldn't talk to me anymore? Really! I just didn't understand. We used to be able to talk about anything and now she's avoiding me! I was getting gradually sadder the longer we were apart. I was able to cope with not living with her and not seeing her every day but that was because I had her phone calls every day and now those have stopped too. Ugh! Why must she be so difficult?

I silently vented to myself as Leah and I drove to the school Emma and the others went. Leah and I were spending the day together apparently. Honestly, I was surprised Leah had even suggested it. Leah and I don't typically hang out. This was a sort of strange event but I took the opportunity. I think part of it was out of pity. She talked to me about it last night after I told her about how Emma was avoiding me. In response, Leah had said that she would try and talk to her. Don't know why she decided to talk to her now but I've never been able to understand Leah's reasonings before and I doubted that would suddenly change.

We pulled into the parking lot and waited. Students were just getting in. I searched for any sign of vampires, of Emma, but they hadn't shown up yet. The longer we sat there, the more impatient I got. Where were they? Where was she? My racing thoughts settled down as I saw familiar cars park into the parking lot. I saw E.J and Taylor step out of the red convertible that Em was in love with and saw E.J walk over to the driver's side of the car. Emma then stepped out, as beautiful and perfect as always. E.J whispered something in her ear. Em then got a mischievous look on her face and started looking for something. She must have spotted it because she grinned and rand toward it at human speed. When I looked to see what she was looking at I felt a fury rise within me. She ran to a boy…a human boy and then she hugged him tightly like he was her world. As I watched them and as they embraced one another, my world came crashing down. I was too late.

**AN: Thoughts? How'd you guys feel about the scene with John? Sorry that this chapter isn't about the plan with Seth but that will come next chapter! I promise. I have part of it already started so hopefully i can update quicker. PLEASE REVIEW SO I CAN SEE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT IT!**


	19. Ch19: Running, Following, and Asking

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry I know I've been slow at updating I just honestly have been busy for past few months. It's been difficult to do much writing. In fact most of this I wrote last night. It's been difficult trying to figure out where I'm going with each chapter. I mean I usually have a general idea but I have to figure how to get there and it's been kind of hard trying to figure out how to start this chapter. This isn't the original beginning so...Anyway sorry for the long wait and thank you for being patient with me. You guys are absolutely AMAZING! I can't thank you all enough for all the reviews and positive feedback and I can't wait to hear what you guys think about this chapter! Please Read and Review and Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters! Stephenie Meyers does!1**

**Chapter Eighteen**

_Seth POV:_

I ran. I ran as fast as I could and far as I could after I saw Emma hugging that boy. I turned into a wolf, no longer desiring to be human. She had moved on. She found someone else to be with. It hurt, it hurt a lot. Why did I have to imprint on _her_? Why did I have to fall in love with her?

As I let my wolf side take over, I saw her face in my mind. I saw her in flashes. I saw the baby girl I had just met that I immediately felt drawn to, the one I need to protect. She had been so adorable then. Her hair had curled so perfectly and she had just looked like an angel. As she got older, she looked even more beautiful, more perfect. I remembered the first time I had realized I was having feelings for her.

**The night was just like any other in Forks, stormy. I was driving over to Leah's house. She had called me a few hours ago asking to come over. She had some date with her imprint, Ethan tonight. Supposedly, tonight she was going to tell him about werewolves and the pack and she needed me to look after something while she was gone.**

** I got to the door of my sister's home and rang the doorbell. My sister didn't keep me waiting long and greeted me and invited me inside. She then hurriedly went outside to meet Ethan who had pulled in after I had. She didn't even explain why I was here. I walked inside and saw Emma looking out the window. Her green eyes that usually sparkled were absent, like she wasn't here. Her wet brown hair was pulled into a long, messy ponytail. Her arms were stretched out in front of her. She was wearing one of my hoodies; how she got that I had no idea. She was obviously torn up emotionally and somehow she still managed to look absolutely stunning. I watched her for a minute before she called out to me.**

** "Are you just going to stand there all day?" she asked not even glancing in my direction.**

** "I don't know. I'm liking the view from over here." She slightly blushed.**

** "That was pretty corny, babe," I heard her say. I could hear the smile slowly creeping up her face.**

** "I thought it was more charming than corny." She turned to me with a small smile on her face.**

** "You just keep trying, Prince."**

** "I'll always try, Princess," I said. She sent me a small smile before turning back to the window. I walked over to her and sat next to her. "Are you ok?" She turned to me and I saw a heartbroken expression on her face. Her eyes themselves spoke volumes. Daniel had really messed her up.**

** Daniel had been her vampire boyfriend of six months. He and Emma met about eight months ago. At first they were friends but they slowly started having feelings for one another and started dating. As the months progressed, Emma fell more and more in love with him. I on the other hand hated him. I hated him the moment I saw him with Emma. I don't know if it's the wolf vs. vampire thing or an imprint thing but nevertheless I hated him. I wanted to wring his neck for touching Emma, much less dating her. He wasn't good enough for her. He was just going to hurt her who was already hut enough because of her father's absence in her life. She deserved better. Sadly, it turned out that I was right about him.**

** Apparently a week ago, he met someone else. He'd fallen in love with her without even giving Emma a second thought. Then he broke up with her in the forest, just as her father had done with her mother. Then to top it all off, he left her alone, granted she told him to leave but still. It took me two hours to find her and when I did I saw her on the ground sobbing. I held her in my arms and run home with her. She cried for hours. It was the worst feeling, seeing her like that. It broke my heart to see her so downtrodden.**

** After we got to her house I took her upstairs to her bed and held her until she fell asleep, which she only lasted one hour so when I went downstairs all of her family was awake and asking what happened. I explained what she had managed to explain to me through her sobs and saw everyone's face turn to one of pure fury. E.J, Jason, and Jake were the worst. Jason was extremely protective of his niece. They fought all the time but that was just how they related. E.J was protective of all his sisters and to hear that someone had hurt his little sister, it made him furious. Nobody hurt his little sister and got away with it. Jake felt the same way. Emma was like his little sister too. It infuriated everyone who had known her that someone would break her heart so readily. For days she cried until there were simply no tears. Now she was simply absent. This was the first time I had seen her since that day because I believed she needed some space even though I felt like I needed to be with her.**

** Seeing her with her absent, sparkles eyes increased that feeling, like she needed me. I saw her shake her head in response to my question about how she was doing and held out my arms to her. Slowly she moved herself into my arms so that she was leaning on me while she looked out the window. We were both silent for about a half an hour before I started talking to her.**

** "Can I tell you something?"**

** "If it's about Daniel being a jerk, I don't want to hear it, Seth. I've already heart it from my uncle, my mother, and my brother. I don't need to hear it from you."**

** "That's not what I was going to say."**

** "Oh," she said, looking down sort of embarrassed. I silently chuckled at her.**

** "What I wanted to say is that he's an idiot," I started.**

** "Seth-," she tried to say.**

** "Just let me finish," I interrupted. She had then stopped talking and glared at me. She hated being silenced. She always got that cute frustrated look on her face. I shook my head, dismissing my thoughts and continuing my attempt at making her feel better. "He's an idiot for choosing some vampire chick over you. Ems, you are the most beautiful, charming, sarcastic woman I've ever met. He just doesn't see how your green eyes sparkle when you are happy or how you have the most incredible smile this world has ever known. Your smile lights up a room and any time you smile it's hard not to smile back. He doesn't see how kind you are, even to those who don't deserve it. Anybody who doesn't see that doesn't deserve you. He doesn't deserve you. You deserve better than him."**

** "Stop it," she said blushing slightly.**

** "It's true. Personally, I don't think anyone will ever be good enough for you."**

** "Not even you?" she asked with a slight smirk.**

** "Well…I am pretty fantastic," I said, teasing her. She gave me a look of fake astonishment.**

** "Looks like someone's full of himself," she replied.**

** "Aw you know you love it, babe," I replied with a wink. She let out a laugh.**

** "Maybe so but you'd be lost without me, darling," she responded.**

** "Oh really?" I countered before catching her by surprise and tickling her. After about a minute, I stopped. "There's that smile I was talking about," I said softly, pointing to her smile which seemed to grow as I mad e the comment. I looked into her green eyes and broke the connection that I realized we had been staring at one another.**

** "What time is it?" she asked before looking at her watch. Her eyes widened.**

** "It's ten o'clock! I need to get home. Mom and E.J will be throwing a fit," she said jumping off her chair and turning towards the door. She stopped for a minute and then turned to face me. She then came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, for everything, for being here and…for just being you. I don't know what I'd do without you," she said softly. I was frozen. She had never kissed me on the cheek like that before and suddenly it was stirring strange feelings in me. What was going on? "You're the best friend I could ever ask for."**

** I felt my heart drop as I heard those words and seeing her turn and leave. I wanted her to stay. I wanted her to stay here with me and….I wanted her to tell me that I was more than just her best friend, that she loved me as much as I loved her. It was in that moment I realized that she was more than just my best friend and it was in that moment that I realized I was completely in love with her. I was in trouble.**

It was after that day that I first started feeling more nervous around her, more cautious. I had been so careful to stop my feelings from ruining our friendship, to stop her and me from getting hurt and here I was running away from her because she had found someone else. I then stopped in my tracks.

What was I doing? Should I really be running away? I didn't even know what that was. It could have been nothing. Why was I panicking and why was I throwing away perfectly good friendship because she fell in love with someone else? All I had been expecting for us was to just be friends. Why was I so shocked by this turn of events? Was it that impromptu kiss we had shared?

I thought about that kiss and I thought about her face. She had to have felt something. There were too many sparks between us to be nothing. Her smile came back as a crystal clear picture in my head. I could hear her voice beckoning me home like a siren call. It was then that I decided what I'd do. She and I were going to talk about "us" whether she tried it or not. I was going to see her and tell her how I felt about her and wasn't going to chicken out this time.

I began to run back the direction I came when out of nowhere I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. I fell to the ground and then the world dissolved into darkness.

_Emma POV:_

I waited anxiously for school to end. Today had gone down perfectly. Operation Jealous Best Friend seemed to be working wonders and all it took was one little hug from a good friend to start it.

See Dylan knew all about what was going to happen this morning. He knew all about the plan. He wanted this to work more than I did, granted this was for him not me but still. All it took was one hug from me and it sent Mandy into a jealous rage. As soon as he and I embraced one another I felt her jealousy in large waves. She hated me after that and even came up to me before class and yelled at me for taking advantage of poor Dylan's feelings. I mean it was perfect and after school I would be talking to Seth and working out our relationship with a similar but less harsh way of getting him to admit how he feels about me. It was all planned out.

So why did I feel so anxious?

I knew the plan would work out and Aunt Alice and Aunt Anne both said it would work out for Seth and I too but something seemed wrong. Something was off about this plan. Something always goes wrong. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned. So what is it?

I sat in my biology class drumming my fingers on the desk. I felt someone grab my hand and stop my drumming. I looked up and saw my brother E.J had grabbed my hand. He was glaring at me, annoyed.

_What_, I asked him in my head.

_Stop it, Emma_, he responded silently back.

_Stop what?_

_ You need to relax. Aunt Anne and Alice both said it's going to turn out fine so you need to stop stressing about your plan and relax and stop drumming your fingers on the desk. It's really annoying._

_ I'm sorry, E.J. It's just…something feels wrong about this whole thing and I don't know what it is._

_ Well this whole plan was pretty crappy. You should just tell him how you feel instead of tricking him._

_ Oh please! This coming from the guy who kept bugging Ness and I about whether or not she liked you and kept looking at her journal to find out if she liked you. You are one nosy busybody, Edward Jacob_, I replied in my head. He glared at me for a second before his widening his eyes.

_You never told Mom about that, did you_, he asked worriedly. I rolled my eyes. That boy really was a Momma's boy. He was so scared of disappointing or upsetting her. It was kind of annoying sometimes. He heard my thoughts and glared at me. I smiled sweetly at him. _Am not! I just don't __**like**__ to disappoint her. I'm not scared of disappointing her._

_ There's no difference._

_ There's a world of difference, Emmy_, he stated. I glared at him. I hated it when he called me that.

_ Call me that again and I'll make you pay._

_ Yeah, yeah now answer my question. Did you tell her?_

_ Of course not_, I answered. I heard him sigh in relief. _I'm using it for blackmail._

_ I hate you._

_ Aw, I love you too, brother dearest_, I thought to him with a smirk before hearing the bell ring. As soon as I heard it, I ran outside excited to see Seth.

I looked around for him and Leah and saw Dylan and Mandy sitting down in front of one of the school's walls. Dylan had his arm wrapped around her tightly and she had her eyes closed and her head resting on his shoulder. I could feel their content coming from 20 yards away. The two of them had obviously settled their issues and I couldn't help but smile at them. Dylan looked at me and smiled before mouthing tome two words: "Thank you". I smiled and nodded at him before turning away.

I walked over to where I finally spotted Leah's car and was surprised to see only Leah there. I felt guilty vibes coming off her. _What did she do_, I thought as I got over to here and where was Seth?

"Hey," I greeted. She gave me a half-smile.

"Hey," she said sort of sadly. I wanted to see Seth. He was all I could really think about today. He was supposed to be here. Where was he?

"Where's Seth?" I asked.

"About that…," started Leah nervously.

"What happened?"

"Well you see, I thought it would be better to bring him in a little early, you know kill two birds with one stone…"

"You didn't!" I replied angrily.

"I'm sorry."

"How could you, Leah?! This wasn't part of the plan! I didn't want him to see that! I knew what would happen if he did! I know him!"

"I'm sorry, Emma. I just…I thought this was the best way to handle this."

"The best way to handle it would have been to let me handle it the way I wanted to! He may be your brother but he's my best friend! I know him better! And now he's out there possibly hurting over this! Who knows what he's doing right now! Ugh I knew something was wrong." I said running my fingers through my hair and began pacing. "I don't even know what to do right now."

"Maybe you should go after him. You've always been good at tracking. You'd find him at some point and like you said you know him better and then you approach it anyway you want. It's all up to you, Em. You can tell how you really feel and I'm sure he'll reciprocate them."

"You really think so?" I asked.

"Of course I do. If I believed that you two have no feelings for one another, I couldn't be even trying to help. You both love each other but you're both too stubborn to admit it. Em, why does he have to make the first move? Why can't you? And don't give me the 'What if he doesn't feel the same' crap because if that were true, he wouldn't have run off like that. Also, he's been there for you more have fun off like that. Also, he's been there for you more than anyone he's ever met. I mean, you guys kissed. Come on!"

"How'd you know about that?" I asked her. I was surprised. I hadn't told her about that. I hadn't told anyone.

"You might keep this a secret from your sibling but Seth sure didn't. He kept asking me 'What did it mean?' Honestly, Em, he's so in love with you that it drives him crazy!"

"Really?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes!"

For the first time in a long time I felt my heart with such joy and hope and…love. Seth loved me. He really did. He had to. Leah said a lot of things but she would never say anything that she didn't believe was true but I knew that I had to hear it from him to really believe it. That's when I decided it.

"I'm going to find him. I'm going to find him and tell him that I love him." I declared before turning around to walk away.

"Atta girl," she said. I turned around to look at her.

"You know I'm still mad at you," I said softly. She smiled a sad smile.

"I know but you can yell at me after you bring lover boy home," she said smiling at me. I smiled back and made my journey to finding Seth.

_E.J POV:_

I laid down outside in the backyard, just taking in each ray of the sun. It was such a beautiful day out after we all got home from school. Emma went out to find Seth. Ness was on a date with Jake (of course). Aunt Anne, Alice, and Rose dragged Mom and Taylor out shopping. Carlisle and Esme took a small vacation. Uncle Jase, John, Emmett and Jasper went hunting so that left me and Edward.

He and I still haven't talked. I'm still trying to work out my feelings for him. I still feel kind of abandoned I guess or at least that's what Taylor had suggested anyway. It's just hard to adjust to him even after he's been here for several months now. He's just been some empty part of my life and now he's here and I don't know what to do.

I heard the back door open and turned around and saw Edward come outside. He came over and sat beside me. I never wanted to acknowledge it before but I did look almost exactly like him. We had the same cheekbones, the same nose, and the same basic facial structure. If I hadn't known any better I have thought we were twins. It was uncanny. We both sat there for a while in silence staring at one another before we both tried to break it.

"Look E.J-," "I actually wanted-," we both started to say at the same time.

"Um, you can go first," we both said.

"Let me talk ok?" I said before he could intercede. He nodded. "I actually wanted to talk to you. I know I haven't been the most welcoming person in fact I've been a jerk to you and I apologize but you can't say it wasn't deserved. You left Mom and it destroyed her." He tried to interrupt but I held my hand up. "Let me finish. I saw what it did to her. I remember very clearly getting up in the middle of the night and seeing Mom crying dry tears. They were the saddest sounds that I had ever heard. I used to have to go up to her and comfort her. I felt like the grown up rather than the child. I hated seeing her like that and it was one of the reasons I hated you.

"The other reason was because I thought maybe you just didn't care about her or about us. You never found us. We needed you. We needed our father but you never came. I know you didn't know about us but you still could've came to find Mom but you never did so I hated you.

"Then you came here. I wanted nothing to do with you and wanted nothing more than kill you for hurting my mother like you did. So I ignored you and I downplayed everything you did for my family just because I didn't want to accept you. But then…you stood up for Mom and I sort of heard Emma thinking about how you saved her and I…I couldn't ignore it anymore. You did care. You cared a lot and that's why you are still here. I know that now. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" I asked. He smiled.

"Of course I can," he answered. I grinned.

"Now it's my turn to talk," said Edward. I nodded and gestured for him to start. "Well, you took care of most of what I was going to say so I guess it just leaves me with one question."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"How would you feel if I asked your mom to marry me?"


	20. Ch19: Permission and Hope

**AN: Hey all! Finally got this chapter put up. Sorry it took so long. I ended up needing to take a break from fanfiction for a while because I wasn't able to use it for a couple of months and then I've been really busy having to get all this other stuff done that I didn't have time to type this up so I could post it. I've had this one started for a while I just kind of forgot that I had it bascially done. But I've been extremely busy and uninspired so it took me a while to get stuff up. I'm hoping to write a chapter for my other story soon but we'll see when that happens. I don't know when my next chapter will be up. I'm hoping to get back into the habit of writing again but no promises because I'm going to be busy again soon but I'll try my best. Anyway, thank you guys for the reviews and I hope some of you guys are still with me and and appreciate the story. Please let me know what you think of the chapter and such. I really like to hear your opinions. You guys are awesome and can't wait to hear from you. Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters. Stephenie Meyer on the otherhand does!**

**Chapter Nineteen**

_EJ POV:_

You know that feeling when you have a million thoughts running through your head and then one statement causes them to suddenly evaporate and you're left with just one simple thought? That's how I felt the instant Ed-Da-ugh whatever I'm going to call him asked to marry my mother. My thought? _What?_ It's such a simple and stupid thought isn't it? I know my sisters would be making fun of me for it for years to come but in my defense what am I supposed to think? One minute he's trying to ask for my forgiveness for hurting my mother and now suddenly after several months of being with her again, he decides to marry her? That's definitely not where I was expecting this conversation to go and I'm a mind reader!

I didn't move. I just stood there, shocked to my core. I try to clear my head but nothing seems to work. I try to speak but no words will form nor will sounds escape my lips. The only thing that seemed to be working was my powers. I could hear his thoughts racing, trying to figure out where I was at, what I was feeling…and failing miserably. My shield was also up, strong as ever. I was never more thankful for that gift than I was in that very moment. I didn't want him knowing my confusion, at least not yet. I then took in his appearance.

He was looking at me with a nervous glance. He was worried. He actually seemed to be worried about how I was taking this. After a few minutes of silence, I saw him run his fingers through his hair. For a moment that shocked me. I had seen that same nervous habit before. I had seen that in my sister Nessie when she was worrying herself over something, when she and Jake were fighting and she had no idea what to say to fix it. But the place I saw that habit most frequently was not in either of my sisters but in the mirror. His shoulders tensed like Emma's did when she was anticipating bad news or trouble. In that moment, I saw how the three of us (Ness, Emma, and I), so similar yet so different, were related. We all inherited traits from our mother but there was a lot of our father in us as well. I looked into his eyes and saw a familiar look of concern in his eyes, concern for me. My mother looked at me like that a lot recently, as she could see me struggling with myself about something but I wasn't willing to tell her. Her gaze then had mirrored his now. He was worried for me…like a parent would be. This only added to my confusion.

"Why?" I finally got around to asking. His eyes widened slightly, not expecting that. His eyes narrowed in confusion the way, Ness's and Emma's did.

"Why what? Why do I want to marry here? I want to marry her because I love her. I love her with every fiber in my being. I love here so much that I want to tie myself to here every way humanly possible, as I should have done years ago rather than leaving her alone in a forest. I love here more than anything, E.J."

"I know that. That's not what I was asking," I replied, looking down nervously, a habit I picked up from my mother. I heard the surprise and confusion in his thoughts.

"Well, I am at a loss then. What were you asking exactly?" he asked. I stayed silent. I felt kind of pathetic for asking such a stupid question. But I had already jumped to conclusions before and I wasn't about to do it again. I heard him sight. "You are just like your mother." I looked up at him surprised. I never heard that from anyone before.

Most of my life I had been told by my mother, "You are just like your father". I had heard it so many times when I was younger that I got sick of it. She had said that my personality was so similar to him and so had my looks. Even the Cullens had seemed to agree with her. Every one of them had commented how alike my father and I were. Uncle Emmett had even started to call me 'Eddie-Boy Jr.' which had gotten me angry at him on more than one occasion. Even my family including my two sisters had supplied their own comparisons between my father and myself. But comparing me to my mother, saying I'm just like her, which had never happened before. He seemed to guess my thoughts, chuckling fondly.

"You know I could never guess what she was thinking? She was always a mystery to me. I had tried so hard to figure her out but I failed epically. It had been a new and humbling experience. She couldn't even be predictable like most humans were. She was always surprising me; she always caught me off guard. She never reacted the way most people reacted. Most people would have run from us after finding out we were vampires but she never did." He smiled fondly with adoration his eyes. In that moment I could see just how much he loved her. I had to smile. It was hard not to love Mom.

"Mom's special," I said. He looked at me with the same smile.

"That she is. She is very special. I have never met anyone in like her in over a hundred years…that is until I met you," he replied still smiling. I gave him a look of confusion. He explained. "You are both so confusing sometimes that it is frustrating! It drives me crazy! You never do what I expect either. For example, today I was expecting a fight with you. I was anticipating it so much that I had rehearsed all the possible arguments that you could throw at me and arguments for those arguments and then…you ask for forgiveness yourself when I'm the one who need to beg you to forgive me," he started sounding still incredulously at our conversation from earlier. Honestly, I was surprised it went so well too but he didn't need to be this shocked. I'm not stubborn enough to stay mad at him forever however much I had wanted to at the time. He continued. "You took all the blame for our lack of communication over the last several months when I was at fault for it too and your mother tends to do that very same thing as well. She takes the blame for everything, even when it's not even her fault. You both fight to protect those you care about. You have that same goodness in your heart that Bella has too. You would rather risk your own lives to save your family. You are as stubborn and as passionate as she is. You love so deeply, especially in the case of Taylor. You are incredibly smart like her. There's just so much of her in you and I can see it so clearly. You have all the best things from her and you are so special in every way."

"I…didn't…know you noticed things like that. No one else seems to notice it," I said surprised by his comparisons. It made me feel a little prideful. I truly loved my mother. She was my role model, my rock. To be compared to her, it made me feel proud. If I was even a little bit like my mother I was proud to be like her. It had really surprised me that out of all people though, he was the one who saw all this.

"That's because no one has spent as much time treasuring Bella's traits and human tendencies as I have. No one has observed her more closely than I have or committed every moment with her to my memory as soon as they happened."

"'Observe her'? You make her sound like an experiment,' I replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't mean it like that. I just…I guess I don't really have any other words to describe it. Sorry."

"It's ok. I understand," I responded sending him a real smile for the first time. He smiled back and we stood there in comfortable silence before he had to go and break it (still don't know what to call him yet).

"So what was your question before?" he asked. I knew that was where he was headed without even needing to read his mind. He wouldn't drop something like this. Nessie is the same way. I sighed embarrassed. It seemed like such a stupid question.

"It's nothing. It's not even worth talking about," I said dismissively. He looked at me disbelieving.

"Just like her," he muttered under his breath. "If it matters to you then it is worth talking about. Look, E.J, if we are going to try to be closer, to get to know one another I need to know how you feel. Talk to me."

"Why does it matter to you?" I asked a little harshly. He surprised me with his parental concern that I kind of snapped at him.

"Why does what matter to me?" he asked, seemingly ignoring my tone.

"Why does getting permission matter to you? Why do you care about how I feel about you asking Mom to marry you? Why does it matter how I feel about you and Mom getting married?" I asked him softly.

"I asked you for your permission for a couple reasons. You see when I was human, in our culture; it was a customary to ask the father for their daughter's hand in marriage. I still believe in this custom. If this had been ten years ago, I probably would have at some point asked your grandfather Charlie for his permission to marry his daughter. Seeing as how she no longer has her father in her life, not by her choice I know, I decided it would be appropriate to ask the people who mean the most to her, the ones she was related to. First, I asked Jason because he was her brother and the one who would most likely give her away."

"And let me guess you asked Nessie and Emma next." I replied, knowing he'd go to the two easiest people to ask next before asking me. His response to my conclusion however shocked me.

"No. You are the second person I asked. I knew Nessie would say 'yes'. She's been asking me to propose for the last five months. Emma was a little trickier but still capable of persuading. But you…you hated me. I wanted your opinion most. I couldn't predict how you'd feel. I honestly didn't think you'd want me to and I wasn't going to…not until I had the ok from you," he told me. I was shocked. He hasn't even asked my sisters yet? He actually cares about what I thought about the situation?

"But why? Why did my opinion matter?"

"Because you are my son, our son. I would never do anything that you are so against. You are a part of the family that I wanted to have, whether you like it or not, and families…they make these kinds of decisions together. When one makes a choice this big without everyone's consent the family falls apart. I could have lost any chance at reconciling with you and that would be one of the worst things anyone could take from me because it takes you out of my life. I want you in my life, E.J. You are so much more than just some kid I had out of wedlock. You are a boy that I have grown very fond of and love very deeply," he explained. I looked at him in disbelief. After all I had said all I had done and he still loved me? We didn't even spend much time together. How would he even know who I am enough to claim to love me?

"But I punched you loads of times and hated you. Why would you grow fond of me?" I asked incredulously.

"I respected the way you protected your family. I saw the way you stood up for your sisters and mother. I saw the way you acted with all of them. I heard stories about you from your sisters, your mother, your uncle, even your girlfriend and just like with Bella; I found it hard not to love you." I took a moment, trying to look for any sign of deceit in his eyes or thoughts and found none. He was completely honest. Any animosity I felt for him disappeared and soon I found myself fond of him, my father, my Dad.

"Thanks, Dad," I said to him with a smile. His eyes widened in shock at the word 'Dad' before he grinned the widest grin I had ever seen on his face.

"Does this mean you are ok with me asking her?" I started to answer before I was interrupted.

"Ask who what?" my mother said walking toward us. My father smiled at her lovingly before replying.

"Asking you on a little road trip next week just the two of us. After all, it is supposed to be sunny all week next week. I've already cleared it with everyone else but I just had to ask E.J," Dad lied smoothly.

_I hope that's ok. I actually wanted to do this with her anyways. Is that alright?_, he asked me in his thoughts. I nodded.

"That sounds like fun. Maybe you should get started now. I actually planned on helping Emma find Seth, so did Ness, Uncle Jase, and Jake so it sounds like good timing," I answered.

"That's a great idea! What do you think, love?" he asked with an excited look in his eyes. Mom looked hesitant but melted as soon as she saw the look on his face.

"Ok," she answered. He then grinned and picked her up bridal style and kissed her. She laughed. "Ok, ok, Edward. Now put me down. I have to go pack some stuff."

"Don't worry about that. Alice and Anne have already done that for both of us. The car's all set to go and everything."

"You really thought this all out didn't you?"

"Love, do I ever not?" he asked his eyes sparkling as he looked at her. She laughed again.

"I guess not," she replied from his arms before looking at me. "Sweetie, if you need anything—"

"I'll call. Promise," I said, knowing full well what she would say. She always worries. She wouldn't be Mom if she didn't.

"Ok good. Love you."

"Love you too, Mom." She smiled before Dad started walking away with her. I watched them happily leave the area before I yelled to them.

"Dad!" I called out to him. He turned with a grin while Mom stared at me in shock. "The answer's yes." He grinned before kissing a very confused Mom and carrying her over to his car.

I smiled. For the first time I finally saw what everyone else saw. Dad loved Mom and soon we would all be one big happy family. The very idea had me grinning as wide as the day Taylor told me she loved me, so think Cheshire cat wide if you're trying to picture it. Things were finally coming together.

_Jake POV: _

Well this sucks. I have been around the Northwest region and caught no scent of Seth. It's an absolutely terrible feeling when someone care so much about suddenly vanished off the face of the earth. Seth is my brother in every way but blood and that's not just because he's a part of my pack. I have known him for a long time before Ness and Emma and we had been friends then too but Nessie and Emma…they bonded us for life. We were both immediately drawn to them and ended up spending more time with them than anyone else in the pack and therefore spending more time with each other. It wasn't hard for the pack to understand why. I had imprinted and so had Seth.

I knew the instant Seth met Emma that he had imprinted on her. He had been so protective of her when she was nearby. When she got old enough to talk, he called her every day. He always made her little trinkets for her birthdays, which she fell in love with, was an even bigger clue was when Emma dated that jerk vampire what's-his-name. Seth had come home so upset saying things like 'I don't know what she sees in that guy' and 'she deserves so much better than him'. He had been so jealous in those months it was very irritating. It became very clear then to everyone in La Push what happened however Emma's family, with the exception of Nessie, remained ignorant.

When they thought of imprinting, they thought of me I had imprinted on Nessie and remained with them there to protect her. But the difference between Nessie and Emma was that Emma didn't feel like she needed a protector when she had met Seth. She was three months old but looked like she was five when they had met. By then, her brother had taken the role of protector and brother. What she needed then was a friend and Seth could be a friend without living with her. It only got harder when she had started dating. That's when he really struggled to hide his feelings for Emma. She needed a mate and as a wolf who had imprinted, it was Seth's instincts telling him he needed to be more than just friends with her. I knew those feelings well. I felt them too when Nessie got older.

As I thought about all this I heard the other's thoughts behind me. Their tone had taken, the same unfortunate tone that mine had. Our brother was still missing. I howled in sorrow and kept running, keeping my senses open for the familiar scent. As I ran I caught the scent of another person I knew. It was strong. They weren't moving. Something wasn't right with that and I ignored the wolves behind me, telling them to keep searching before following the scent.

I found myself at a lake near my home. There as a huge boulder near it and on the boulder was a girl with familiar brown hair. She looked so sad, so lost. I wanted to help her but I wasn't what she needed. She needed Seth. I turned back into my human form before walking up to her.

"Hey, Emmie. What's shaking?" I said, trying to get her to smile. I failed.

"Get lost, Jake," she said softly.

"Well that's not very nice, Emmie. Didn't Bells teach you to be nice to your elders?" I replied, trying once more. She ignored me. I sighed then sat next to her on the boulder and stared with her at the lake. "So you haven't had much luck either, huh?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I don't know what to do, Jake. I miss him so much. It's like…it's hard to live without him. I don't understand it. I feel like I can't breathe, Jacob. I don't get it. We've been apart before. Why is this time so different? Why is this so difficult?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Emma. All I've got to tell you is not to lose faith. We'll find him. We always do." I wasn't about to share my doubts with her. They would scare her and make her more depressed.

"He imprinted on me, didn't he?" she asked. I looked at her shocked. She figured it out. I was beginning to have my doubts that she would. She's smart and all but she was quite oblivious of Seth's obvious feelings.

"How'd you figure it out?" I asked. She still hadn't looked at me and just sighed.

"I guess I've always kind of known. I always felt a strong connection to him and it only seemed to grow stronger within the last year or two. Plus, this…being away from him…it hurts more than it ever had and ever should for a simple crush. It hurts more than it had with Daniel. I just never thought it was possible. He wasn't as attached to me as you are to Nessie so every time I dismissed it but now…I don't think I can anymore," she answered softly, a tear falling from her eye. I sighed and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"All wolves are different, Emma, and so are the imprints. Believe me over the last two years, he's been rather attached to you. His thoughts as a wolf seemed to always go to you. In fact a lot of us stopped hanging out with wolf Seth because he was so centered around you, especially when you met vampire boy. Seth was extremely jealous. We were all shocked he managed to maintain friends status with you and that he wasn't found out then. He was very attached to you then because you needed him to be.

"Emma, when a wolf imprints he become whatever she needs him: a friend, a brother, a protector, a mate. When you met, you already had a brother and a protector in E.J. What you needed was a friend. A friend doesn't need to be attached to you so he naturally wasn't as 'attached' as I was to Nessie. Nessie needed a protector when I met her. Her situation was a little different. But Seth did call you every day and when he was there he protected you to the best of his abilities. Now you need him in a new way."

"As a mate," she said softly. I nodded.

"Exactly."

"I guess that explains it," she said sighing. "Things were so much simpler before now."

"I agree. Your sister was less work," I joked. She laughed slightly. "Atta girl. We'll find him, Emma. I promise. Look we have lots of vampires and werewolves on the lookout for him someone is bound to find him. Don't worry so much. Everything will turn out," I said. She finally looked at me and shot me a smile before giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Jake."

"No problem, Emmie," she glared half-heartedly.

"You're not as annoying as I thought."

"Right back at you, sis," I said back. She rolled her eyes.

"Now you've ruined it."

"Aw come on! I can't call you 'sis'!"

"No."

"Fine. I see how it is. I'll just stick to calling you 'Emmie' then," I said with a smirk knowing she hated it when I called her 'Emmie'.

"My name is Emma, not 'sis', not 'Emmie', Emma! You call me anything else and I may decide to tell my mother AND my father of your nightly visits into Ness's room," she threatened. My eyes widened. SHE KNEW!

"You wouldn't!" I replied scared. I wasn't so scared of Edward finding out but Bella…Bella would KILL me!

"I would."

"You are evil, Emmalie Jary!" I yelled. She glared as she heard her middle name. Oops.

"And you're a pain, Cujo."

"Cujo's a dog. I'm a werewolf. Keep it straight."

"Dog, werewolf, it's all the same. You both slobber, smell, and need to be house broken," she said with a smirk on her own face. I glared at her.

"I hate you!" I yelled.

"Then all is right with the world because if you liked me, we might have a problem," she said getting up from her spot. I looked at her confused.

"Where are you going?" I asked. She smiled a real smile at me, looking more alive than she had a few minutes ago.

"I'm going to find Seth. I will do whatever I have to. I will find him," she said determined. I saw the hope come back into her eyes and had to smile at the change. She then left me sitting at the boulder with my pack waiting behind me. She'd be ok now. I had helped restore her hope…and she had restored mine. I turned back into a wolf and communicated with my pack.

_Alright, guys, let's head back to La Push and meet up with Nessie in Forks. She may have other ideas on where to look. We are going to find our brother and we are not stopping until we find out what happened to him_, I thought to them as we ran back towards Washington. I heard the agreement with the rest of the pack. Looks like our talk didn't just work for Emma and I but on the rest of the pack as well. That's when I realized that just like Nessie; Emma was made to be, in a way, a part of the pack.


End file.
